'amide-free' is a modern English compound formed from the word 'amide' and the adjective 'free', used to indicate the absence of amide compounds.

'amide' itself was coined in modern chemical nomenclature in the 19th century (from earlier forms based on 'ammonia' plus the suffix '-ide'); the compound 'amide-free' formed later in English by combining 'amide' with 'free' to describe absence of such groups or substances.

The element 'amide' originally denoted derivatives related to ammonia in early chemical usage; over time it came to identify organic compounds containing the -CONH2 (or related) group. 'Amide-free' developed to mean 'not containing those amide compounds' in modern technical and commercial contexts.