friend

Meaning

Noun

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; patron, mentor.
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, ironic) 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. (euphemistic) A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
10. (Scotland, obsolete) A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
11. (in-plural) Used to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew

Verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
2. (transitive) To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.

Synonyms

companion

comrade

mate

🧉

pal

buddy

acquaintance

partner

associate

colleague

fellow

ally

chum

lover

❤️

supporter

well-wisher

crony

brother

👨‍👦

boyfriend

girlfriend

confidant

friendship

fellow-thinker

playmate

relative

intimate

follower

adherent

playfellow

sister

👩‍👧

booster

love

❤️

fan

close friend

cobber

disciple

protagonist

advocate

patron

neighbour

amigo

participant

peer

co-worker

helper

cousin

guest

consort

gang

girl

👧

compeer

Translations

ami

Freund

amigo

amico

vriend

Freundin

amigo

φίλος

arkadaş

amic

amie

amicus

camarade

copain

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fɹɛnd/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: frend

Inherited from Old English: frēond

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Fjund

Cognate with Western Frisian: freon

Cognate with Dutch: vriend

Cognate with Low German: Frund

Cognate with Luxembourgish: Frënd

Cognate with German: Freund

Cognate with Danish: frænde

Cognate with Swedish: frände

Cognate with Icelandic: frændi

Cognate with Welsh: ffrind

Cognate with Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃

Cognate with Russian: прия́тель

Cognate with Sanskrit: प्रिय

In summary

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 love”), roughly equivalent to free + -nd.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots freend (“friend”), Yola friend, vriene (“friend”), North Frisian frinj, frün (“friend”), Saterland Frisian Fjund, Früünd (“friend”), West Frisian freon, freondinne (“friend”), Cimbrian bròint, vròint (“friend”), Dutch vriend (“friend”), German Freund (“friend”), German Low German Fründ (“friend, relative”), Luxembourgish Frënd (“friend”), Vilamovian fraeind, frajnd (“friend”), Yiddish פֿרײַנד (fraynd, “friend”), Danish frænde (“kinsman”), Faroese, Icelandic frændi (“kinsman”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk frende (“relative”), Swedish frände (“kinsman, relative”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”). More at free.
Akin to Russian прия́тель (prijátelʹ, “friend”), Romanian prieten, and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).

Sentences

But the boy never took his eye off his new friend .

His new friend pushed the owner aside , and pulled the boy outside with him .

He moved to Berlin to be close to his friend , producer Moses Schneider .

" He lives at the Al-Fayoum oasis ," his friend had said .

Gershwin dedicated his Preludes to friend and musical advisor Bill Daly .