friend

Pronunciation

• IPA: /frend/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frend, inherited from Old English frēond,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *frijōjands (“lover, friend”),^[2] the present participle of a verb meaning “to love”, seen in Old English frēon,^[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *prī- (“to love”).^[2][4] Its relatives include Dutch vriend, German Freund and Old Norse frændi (“kinsman, friend”),^[2][3][6] and in English free.^[7][5][6] It was formed like fiend, also a present participle,^[3][5] though fiend is not related to it.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person attached to another by affection: Old English frēond, about 725, in Beowulf,^[3][2] where the king's hall is described as full of friends.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The American Heritage Dictionary points out that a friend is literally a lover: Old English frēond was simply the present participle of frēon, “to love”, just as Latin amīcus goes with amō and Greek philos with phileō.^[4] The same Germanic root gave a word for “peace”, found in names such as Frederick, and the name of the goddess Frigg, preserved in Friday.^[4] In Old English frēond and fēond (“enemy”) were often paired in alliteration.^[2] The long vowel of Middle English was later shortened under the influence of words such as friendship,^[3] which goes back to Old English frēondscipe.^[3] The proverb a friend in need is a friend indeed can be traced back to the 11th century.^[8] A member of the Society of Friends, a Quaker, has been called a Friend since 1656^[9] or the 1670s.^[2] The verb has been used since about 1200, “to be friends”, though befriend is the usual word,^[2][6] and in the social-media sense since 2005.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English frēond and frēondscipe (Beowulf).^[3]
• 11th century – a friend in need is a friend indeed.^[8]
• c. 1200 – verb, to be friends.^[2]
• 1656 – a Quaker.^[9]
• 2005 – verb, to add as a friend online.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person one knows, likes and trusts.
2. An acquaintance.
3. An ally in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. A supporter or patron of a group, cause or movement.
5. (capitalized) A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Verb

1. (archaic) To befriend.
2. To add someone as a contact on a social networking site.

Word family

• friendless
• friendlessness

Related words

• free
• fiend
• friendship
• friendly
• Friday
• befriend

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)