friend

Meaning

1. A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
2. An associate who provides assistance.
3. A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
4. A person who backs or supports something.
5. (informal) An object or idea that can be used for good.
6. (colloquial) Used as a form of address when warning someone.
7. A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
8. A spring-loaded camming device.
9. A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
10. (obsolete) A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
11. Used to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew

companion

comrade

fellow-thinker

close friend

my friend

male friend

young woman

damoiselle

female cousin

female friend

old fellow

familiar face

damosel

fellow-villager

fellow-clansman

camerade

ami

damozel

fellow soldier

fille

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fɹɛnd/

From Middle English frend, freend, from Old English frēond (“friend”, literally “loving[-one], lover”), from Proto-West Germanic *friund, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“lover, friend”), from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to like, love”), equivalent to free + -nd. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Fjund, Früünd (“friend”), West Frisian freon, froen, freondinne (“friend”), Dutch vriend (“friend”), Low German Frund, Fründ (“friend, relative”), Luxembourgish Frënd (“friend”), German Freund (“friend”), Danish frænde (“kinsman”), Swedish frände (“kinsman, relative”), Icelandic frændi (“kinsman”), Welsh ffrind (“friend”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”). More at free. Other cognates include Russian прия́тель (prijátelʹ, “friend”) and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).