I personally understand different things when I hear that an application is "free" vs that it is "free software" [1].
It also helps to look at the more correct terms to use when talking about a different kind of "free" [2].
It doesn't actually matter, but even if we dig the actual root of the word, and its usage, we see that the "libre" meaning precedes the "kostenlos" (without monetary cost). It meant "noble, free person" in the proto-Germanic [3]. If you say that someone is a free person, no sane person would think that he/she can be owned for free. So the phrase "free software" is a very unsuitable substitute for "free to redistribute" or "free to use", even when you ignore the industry jargon. License to use it is free, not the software.
It also helps to look at the more correct terms to use when talking about a different kind of "free" [2].
It doesn't actually matter, but even if we dig the actual root of the word, and its usage, we see that the "libre" meaning precedes the "kostenlos" (without monetary cost). It meant "noble, free person" in the proto-Germanic [3]. If you say that someone is a free person, no sane person would think that he/she can be owned for free. So the phrase "free software" is a very unsuitable substitute for "free to redistribute" or "free to use", even when you ignore the industry jargon. License to use it is free, not the software.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software , https://fsfe.org/freesoftware/basics/summary.en.html , https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software , https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_(disambiguation)
[3]: https://www.etymonline.com/word/free