friar

Meaning

1. A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).
2. (dated) A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.
3. An American fish, the silverside.
4. An American fish, the silverside.

Synonyms

monk

mendicant

brother

👨‍👦

hermit

lay brother

luck

🍀

monastic

priest

religious

abbot

raised doughnut

ascetic

clergyman

donut

Translations

fraile

frate

👨‍👦

moine

frère

👨‍👦

frater

👨‍👦

broeder

👨‍👦

Mönch

frare

👨‍👦

μοναχός

frade

καλόγερος

Ordensbruder

Klosterbruder

αδελφός

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɹaɪə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: frere

In summary

PIE word
*bʰréh₂tēr
From Middle English frere, from Old French frere, from Latin frāter (“brother”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, pal, and vai.