'guilt-free' originates from the combination of 'guilt' and 'free', where 'guilt' refers to the feeling of having committed a wrong and 'free' means not subject to or affected by something.

'guilt' comes from Old English 'gylt', meaning 'crime, sin, fault', and 'free' from Old English 'freo', meaning 'not in bondage, acting of one's own will'.

Initially, 'guilt-free' meant 'free from guilt or blame', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.