FREEHOLD, in the English law of real property, an estate in land, not being less than an estate for life. An estate for a term of years, no matter how long, was considered inferior in dignity to an estate for life, and unworthy of a freeman (see ESTATE). "Some time before the reign of Henry II., but apparently not so early as Domesday, the expression _liberum tenementum_ was introduced to designate land held by a freeman by a free tenure. Thus freehold tenure is the sum of the rights and duties which constitute the relation of a free tenant to his lord."[1] In this sense freehold is distinguished from copyhold, which is a tenure having its origin in the relation of lord and villein (see COPYHOLD). Freehold is also distinguished from leasehold, which is an estate for a fixed number of years only. By analogy the interest of a person who holds an office for life is sometimes said to be a freehold interest. The term _customary freeholds_ is applied to a kind of copyhold tenure in the north of England, viz. tenure by copy of court-roll, but not, as in other cases, expressed to be at the will of the lord. FOOTNOTE: [1] Digby's _History of the Law of Real Property_. FREELAND, a borough of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., about 20 m. S. of Wilkes-Barre, in the E. part of the state. Pop. (1890) 1730; (1900) 5254 (1339 foreign-born, many being Slavs); (1910) 6197. Freeland is served by the Lehigh Valley railway and by electric railway to Upper Lehigh (1 m. distant, served by the Central Railroad of New Jersey) and to other neighbouring places. The borough is built on Broad Mountain, nearly 2000 ft. above sea-level, and the chief industry is the mining of coal at the numerous surrounding collieries. Freeland is the seat of the Mining and Mechanical Institute of the Anthracite Region, chartered in 1894, modelled after the German _Steigerschulen_, with elementary and secondary departments and a night school for workmen. The borough has foundries and machine shops of considerable importance, and manufactures silk, overalls, beer and hames. Freeland was first settled about 1842, was laid out in 1870, and was incorporated in 1876.