Etymologically
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fellowship

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɛl.ə(ʊ).ʃɪp/ (UK); /ˈfɛl.ə.ʃɪp/, /ˈfɛl.oʊ.ʃɪp/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English felaweshipe, formed from felawe and -shipe (see fellow and -ship).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Companionship: about 1200 (feolahschipe) in Etymonline and the OED;[2][4] Merriam-Webster dates it to before the 12th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

A body of companions is from the late 13th century,[2] and participation or sharing from before 1240.[4] Spiritual communion is from before 1300, as in the right hand of fellowship (1382, after Galatians).[4] The spirit of comradeship or friendliness is from the late 14th century.[2] In Middle English it was sometimes a euphemism for sexual intercourse, fleshly fellowship.[2][4] A paid position in an English college is from the 1530s,[2] and the modern sense of an award for advanced study follows from it.[5] Bartlett (1848) condemned the verb to fellowship with as a barbarism of American church reports.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – companionship.[2][4]
  • late 13th century – a body of companions.[2]
  • 1382 – the right hand of fellowship.[4]
  • 1530s – a college fellowship.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Friendly association with people who share one's interests; companionship.
  2. A group or society of people with shared interests or beliefs.
  3. A paid post or award for advanced study or research at a university.
  4. Christian communion and mutual trust.

Word family

  • disfellowship
  • good-fellowship

Usage notes

In Lincolnshire dialect fellowship meant friendly conversation (we had a little fellowship together).[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)