shareware.
A type of software that is distributed without payment but is limited in any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience.
Meaning & usage
A type of software that is distributed without payment but is limited in any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)koréh₂ Proto-Germanic *skarō Proto-West Germanic *skaru Old English sċearu Middle English schare English share Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Germanic *samþuz /*samftuz Proto-Indo-European *-yos Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī) Old English sōfte Middle English softe English soft Proto-Germanic *warō Proto-West Germanic *waru Old English waru Middle English ware English -ware English softwarebf. English -ware English shareware From share + -ware. Popularized by Bob Wallace
Try it on your idea.
shareware has 9 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.