Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US campus) a comb. form that indicates an obsessive, one who is extremely interested in or overly fond of something, e.g. health-freak; esp. with regard to one’s favourite drug, e.g. coke-freak etc.

1906		ref. in H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 154: The oldest of these seems to be camera freak, dated to 1906 by a correspondent of William Safire’s (New York Times, 2/15/81).
1946		B. Ulanov Duke Ellington 270: ‘I’m a train freak,’ Duke says.
1957		C. Himes Imabelle 28: ‘A stockin’ freak,’ one said.
1959		C. Himes Crazy Kill 74: Acey-Deucey’s poolroom. He’s a pool freak.
1965		C. Himes Rage in Harlem (1969) 29: [as 1957].
1967		H.S. Thompson letter 13 May in Proud Highway (1997) 610: Painted red, white and blue by a dope freak that I hired.
1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970) 97: freak [...] one who prefers a certain kind of drug [...] by extension one who is obsessed with a certain way of thinking as in ‘political freak’.
1972		Oz 15 in Hudson Lang. Teenage Revolution (1983) 44: He was a coke freak.
1973		in C. Browne Body Shop 92: He was a study freak, so it was always [farm] work or study.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 18: Ms Murphy was ‘a film freak’.
1981		A.K. Shulman On the Stroll 207: Maybe he was a bondage freak?
1981		M. Baker Nam (1982) 91: I was one of the biggest pot freaks that you’ve ever seen.
1981		W. Russell Educating Rita II i: We had this lecturer though, he was a real Blake freak.
1987		C. Hiaasen Double Whammy (1990) 158: A Bahamian crack freak had carved up his male roommate.
1993		A. Rodriguez Spidertown (1994) 94: His ‘best friend’ was a fire freak.
1997		Mad mag. Apr. 7: For all I know she may have been a closet bondage freak and got turned on by the abuse.
1997		C. Hiaasen Lucky You 10: Is she a Jesus freak? Because I’m in no mood to be preached at.
1998		L. Stringer Grand Central Winter (1999) 157: I mean you couldn’t accuse me of being a neatfreak, but it’s not unhygienic.
1999		Indep. on Sun. Culture 3 Oct. 8: Sporty is a wholesome exercise freak.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 389: Jeff Silver was being a shithead power freak.
2000		Hip-Hop Connection Jan./Feb. 96: You ain’t nothing but a fucking rock freak!
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 149: Nick’s a Dodge freak, man. He’s got an old Mopar from the sixties that he babies.
2001		A. Schulman 23rd Precinct 97: She often scrubs down the bathroom with ammonia and cleans sinks, stalls, and showers. ‘I can’t help it. I’m a neat freak’.
2006		C. Hiaasen Nature Girl 122: She’s a crank freak.
2008		T. Piccirilli Fever Kill 130: ‘Who are you trying to keep out?’ ‘Jesus freaks and kids selling magazine subscriptions.’.
2012		C. Stella Rough Riders 164: The guy is a neat freak [...] everything was in its place, nothing out of order.
2015		J. Stahl OG Dad 128: I don’t want to come off like some kind of whining [...] panic freak.

2. attrib. use of sense 1.

1970		T. Southern Blue Movie (1974) 54: It was through these portals, and past this boss-freak vigilance, that Boris and Sid had made their way.
1986		C. Hiaasen Tourist Season (1987) 233: He would humble them all: the arrogant Indian, the stoned-freak nigger.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 175: He said that Keva, the music freak kid next door to whom he’d taught a few basic guitar chords, could look after his record collection.
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] Mark and his neat-freak wife were still angry about the ‘incident’.