Dictionary / friend
friend
- noun
- verb
- from Old English
A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “friend” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.
- An associate who provides assistance; patron, mentor.
The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend. The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.
- A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
a friend of a friend
- A person who backs or supports something.
I’m not a friend of cheap wine.
- informalAn object or idea that can be used for good.
Fruit is your friend.
- colloquialironicUsed as a form of address when warning someone.
You’d better watch it, friend.
- A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
But don't take the following sections as an endorsement of friends. Top C++ programmers avoid using friends unless absolutely necessary.1991, Tom Swan, Learning C++:
- A spring-loaded camming device.
Since they were introduced in the 1970s, friends have revolutionized climbing, making protection possible in previously impossible places […]1995, Rock Climbing Basics:
- euphemisticA lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Nor to the motion of a schoolboy's tongue ; Nor never come in visard to my friendc. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OC
- in pluralUsed to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew
Meanwhile on The View, Whoopi Goldberg and friends continue to spout their takes on the hot topics of the day.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- ScotlandobsoleteA relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
verb
- transitiveTo add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.
One of the most used features of MySpace is the practice that is nicknamed "friending." If you "friend" someone, then that person is added to your MySpace friends list, and you are added to their friends list.2006, Kevin Farnham, Dale G. Farnham, Myspace Safety: 51 Tips for Teens And Parents, How-To Primers, →ISBN, page 69:
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- obsoletetransitiveTo act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (5)
- nouna person you know well and regard with affection and trust
- nounan associate who provides cooperation or assistance — also: ally
- nouna person with whom you are acquainted — also: acquaintance
- nouna person who backs a politician or a team etc. — also: supporter, protagonist, champion, admirer, booster
- nouna member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers) — also: Quaker
Synonyms: ally, lover, acquaintance, contact, admirer, booster, champion, protagonist, supporter, buster, mate, pal
Antonyms: enemy, stranger, foe, asshole, bitchy-pants, creep, false friend, fiend
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)friend
- Middle Englishfreend
- Old Englishfrēond
- Proto-West Germanic*friund
- Proto-Germanic*frijōndz “friend, loved one”
- Proto-Indo-European*preyH- “to please; to love”
From Middle English freend, frend, frende, freynde, friend, frind, frond, frund, vrend, vryend, from Old English frēond, frīond (“friend”, literally “loving [one], lover”), from Proto-West Germanic *friund, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“friend, loved one”), from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to please; to love”), roughly equivalent to free + -nd. See also Friday.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots freend (“friend”), Yola friend, vriene (“friend”), North Frisian frinj, frün (“friend”), Saterland Frisian Fjund, Früünd (“friend”), West Frisian freon, freondinne (“friend”), Cimbrian bròint, vròint (“friend”), Dutch vriend (“friend”), German Freund (“friend”), German Low German Fründ (“friend, relative”), Limburgish vröndj (“friend”), Luxembourgish Frënd (“friend”), Vilamovian fraeind, frajnd (“friend”), Yiddish פֿרײַנד (fraynd, “friend”), Danish frænde (“kinsman”), Faroese and Icelandic frændi (“kinsman”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk frende (“relative”), Swedish frände (“kinsman, relative”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”); also Welsh rhydd (“free”), Latin proprius (“own, proper”), Belarusian пры́яцель (prýjacjelʹ, “friend”), Bulgarian прия́тел (prijátel, “male friend”), Czech přítel (“friend; supporter; lover”), Macedonian при́јател (príjatel, “friend, mate, pal”), Polish przyjaciel, przyjáciel (“friend; lover”), Russian прия́тель (prijátelʹ, “friend; buddy, mate, pal”), Serbo-Croatian при̏јатељ, prȉjatelj (“friend”), Slovak priateľ (“friend; supporter”), Slovene prijatelj (“friend; companion; chum”), Ukrainian при́ятель (prýjatelʹ, “friend; buddy, pal”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (friia, “good, pleasant”), Persian فری (fari, “beloved, dear; pleasing”), Sanskrit प्रिय (priya, “beloved; own, wonted”). More at free.
Derivatives — words built from “friend”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “friend” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “friend” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
friend n. [OE. frend, freond, AS. fre, prop. p. pr. of fre, fre, to love; akin to D. vriend friend, OS. friund friend, friohan to love, OHG. friunt friend, G. freund, Icel. fr kinsman, Sw. fr. Goth. frij friend, frij to love. Free, and cf. Fiend.]
- One who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society and welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant.
- One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address.
- One who looks propitiously on a cause, an institution, a project, and the like; a favorer; a promoter; as, a friend to commerce, to poetry, to an institution.
- One of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers.
friend v. t.
- To act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.
Trust is important between friends.
nounMeaning: An associate who provides assistance; patron, mentor.
The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend. The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.
When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my little pocket with halfpence.1779, Benjamin Franklin, The Whistle (letter):
nounMeaning: A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
a friend of a friend
I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly know him.
nounMeaning: A person who backs or supports something.
I’m not a friend of cheap wine.
nounMeaning: An object or idea that can be used for good.
Fruit is your friend.
nounMeaning: Used as a form of address when warning someone.
You’d better watch it, friend.
nounMeaning: a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
he was my best friend at the university
nounMeaning: a person with whom you are acquainted
we are friends of the family
nounMeaning: a person who backs a politician or a team etc.
they are friends of the library
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
friend
/fɹɛnd/ · friend
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
friend
/fɹɛnd/ · friend · noun, verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “friend” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.”
Circle the meaning used.
“The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend. The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.”
Circle the meaning used.
“a friend of a friend”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “friend” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Proto-Indo-European *preyH-. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — friend
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
Which meaning, sentence 2: A. An associate who provides assistance; patron, mentor.
Which meaning, sentence 3: B. A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
Origin: C. Old English (Old English frēond)
Journey: English friend ← Middle English freend ← Old English frēond ← Proto-West Germanic *friund ← Proto-Germanic *frijōndz ← Proto-Indo-European *preyH-
Some derivatives: affriended, backfriend, back-friend, befriend, boy-friend, boyfriend, chick-friend, cyberfriend
Original meaning: Proto-Indo-European *preyH- — “to please; to love”
Etymology: From Middle English freend, frend, frende, freynde, friend, frind, frond, frund, vrend, vryend, from Old English frēond, frīond (“friend”, literally “loving [one], lover”), from Proto-West Germanic *friund, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“friend, loved one”), from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to please; to love”), roughly equivalent to free + -nd. See also Friday.
Sources: Wiktionary “friend” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/friend#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/friend