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friar

Etymology and origin of the English word friar

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɹaɪə/ (UK); /ˈfɹaɪɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frere, later fryer,[2][3][4][5][6] borrowed from Old French frere (“brother; friar”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin frāter (“brother”).[2][3][4][5][6] The change of spelling to friar (before 1596) parallels briar and choir.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of one of the mendicant religious orders (c. 1290 in the OED; before 1200 in Barnhart);[7][3] also, in figurative use, a brother (c. 1290).[7]

Semantic evolution

The word originally referred to the mendicant orders, the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Augustinians, who reached England in the early 13th century.[4][6] Fowler distinguished the friar, whose work lies outside among the people and who lives on alms, from the monk, who belongs to a particular monastery.[4] The word was sometimes loosely applied to monks and members of military orders (c. 1330).[7] In printing a friar is a pale patch on a page caused by poor inking.[7][6]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – frere (Barnhart).[3]
  • c. 1290 – a member of a mendicant order.[7]
  • before 1450 – the spelling fryer.[3]
  • before 1596 – the spelling friar.[3]
  • 1683 – in printing, a pale patch.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A member of one of the mendicant religious orders of the Roman Catholic Church, such as the Franciscans or Dominicans.
  2. (printing) A pale area on a printed page caused by uneven inking.

Word family

  • friarly
  • friarbird
  • friary
  • black friar
  • grey friar
  • brother
  • fraternal
  • monk
  • fratricide

Usage notes

Random House refers friar to its entry on monk, and Fowler notes that monk properly excludes the mendicant orders.[6][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Friar.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/friar. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·