Gratis versus Libre is the distinction between zero price (gratis) and freedom (libre). Gratis appears in many English dictionaries[1], including the OED. However, libre usually does not at present, and no English adjective signifies freedom only. This distinction is often important in dealing with laws concerning the use of information, such as copyright and patents. The terms are often used in the free software and open source communities, as well as the broader free culture movement, to categorize computer programs according to the licenses and legal restrictions that cover them. Both this expression and the term gratis are used to distinguish freeware (gratis software) from free software.
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Gratis
- "Gratis" redirects here. For the referral marketing company, see Gratis Internet.
Gratis is the plural ablative form of the first declension noun "grātia" in Latin and used as an adjective in various Romance and Germanic languages (like Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch) meaning "for nothing," in the sense that one does not have to pay for some good or service (free of charge), even though the good or service has value.
Libre
Libre is a word in various Romance languages, e.g. Spanish and French (descended from the Latin word līber) that denotes the state of being free, as in "having freedom". Members of the free software community often talk about free as in free speech (libre) and free as in free beer (gratis, gratuit), as the word free in English does not distinguish between these meanings. "Free software" (with a capital F) usually means the former.
See also
External links and references
- ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gratis Dictionary.com
- Stallman's discussion of FreeAsInBeer
- 'Wired' on the first open source beer
- Free, as in Beer by Lawrence Lessig
- "Free as in speech and beer" book by Darren Wershler-Henry
- Say "Libre" and discussion regarding knowledge and learning resources.
