This thread brings to mind the taxonomy of free vs. bound CHARGES which we
find useful to define in the standard analysis of the electric
potential/field produced by polarized dielectrics.
In this treatment the 1/r^2 potential of a volume of dipoles is shown to be
MATHEMATICALLY equivalent to the 1/r potential of a distribution of "bound"
monopole charges (rho = -Div P) throughout the dielectric volume and a
"bound" surface charge on its surface (sigma = P_n). We call these
equivalent charge distributions "bound charges" and distinguish them from
any "free" actual monopole charges in the environment. This is standard
analysis and language.
We define that language which we find to be useful (and sometimes
confusing/misleading).