Friends meaning in one word

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”). More at free.

Other cognates include Russian приятель (prijatelʹ, “friend”) and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: frĕnd, IPA^(key): /fɹɛnd/, [fɹ̥end̥]
• (now dialectal) IPA^(key): /frɪnd/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛnd

Noun[edit]

friend (plural friends)

1. A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
   • 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, «Friendship», Essays, Vol. I:

     The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.

   • 1917, Richard M. Gummere translating Seneca as Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales, Loeb Classical Library, Vol. I, No. 3:

     …if you consider any man a friend whom you do not trust as you trust yourself, you are mightily mistaken and you do not sufficiently understand what true friendship means.

   • 1923, William Armistead Falconer translating Cicero as De Amicitia, Loeb Classical Library, Vol. XX, p. 34:

     …he who looks upon a true friend, looks, as it were, upon a sort of image of himself. Wherefore friends, though absent, are at hand; though in need, yet abound; though weak, are strong; and—harder saying still—though dead, are yet alive; so great is the esteem on the part of their friends, the tender recollection and the deep longing that still attends them.

   • 1927 Mar. 31, Ernest Hemingway, letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald:

     …you are my devoted friend too. You do more and work harder and oh shit I’d get maudlin about how damned swell you are. My god I’d like to see you… You’re a hell of a good guy.

   • 1933 Dec. 12, Walter Winchell, «On Broadway», Scranton Republican, p. 5:

     Definition of a friend: One who walks in—when the rest of the world walks out.

   John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.   Trust is important between friends.   I used to find it hard to make friends when I was shy.

   We became friends in the war and remain friends to this day.    We were friends with some girls from the other school and stayed friends with them.

2. An associate who provides assistance.

   The Automobile Association is every motorist’s friend.   The police is every law-abiding citizen’s friend.

3. A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.

   • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:

     The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you «stay up to date with what your friends are doing», […] and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people’s control of their own attention.

   a friend of a friend;  I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly know him.

4. A person who backs or supports something.

   I’m not a friend of cheap wine.

5. (informal) An object or idea that can be used for good.

   Fruit is your friend.

6. (colloquial, ironic, used only in the vocative) Used as a form of address when warning someone.

   You’d better watch it, friend.

7. (object-oriented programming) A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.

   • 1991, Tom Swan, Learning C++:

     But don’t take the following sections as an endorsement of friends. Top C++ programmers avoid using friends unless absolutely necessary.

   • 2001, Stephen Prata, C++ primer plus:

     In that case, the function needn’t (and shouldn’t) be a friend.

   • 2008, D S Malik, C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design:

     To make a function be a friend to a class, the reserved word friend precedes the function prototype […]

8. (climbing) A spring-loaded camming device.
   • 1995, Rock Climbing Basics

     Since they were introduced in the 1970s, friends have revolutionized climbing, making protection possible in previously impossible places […]

9. (euphemistic) A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Nor to the motion of a schoolboy’s tongue ; Nor never come in visard to my friend

   • 1813, Samuel Foote, The Commissary, Etc., page 17:

     Time has been, when a gentleman wanted a friend, I could supply him with choice in an hour; but the market is spoiled, and a body might as soon produce a hare or a partridge […]

   • 1975, Janis Ian, «In the Winter»:

     I met your friend. She’s very nice, what can I say?

10. (Scotland, obsolete) A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.

    Friends agree best at a distance.

    Make friends of framet folk.

    • 1895, Crockett, Bog-Myrtle, 232:

      He was not a drop’s blood to me, though him and my wife were far-out friends.

11. (in the plural, usually preceded by «and») Used to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew

    Synonyms: and company, et al.

    Meanwhile on The View, Whoopi Goldberg and friends continue to issue forced apologies for their assumptive comments regarding non-profit organisation Turning Point USA…

Usage notes[edit]

• friends is found as an invariable plural in the phrases make friends with and be friends with: I am friends with her; He made friends with his co-worker.
• We usually make a friend, or make friends with someone. See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
• In older texts and certain dialects, the prepositional phrase to friend means «as a friend or an ally», for exampleː «with God to frend (Spenser)». The antonym to the phrase to friend is to fiend.

Synonyms[edit]

• (person whose company one enjoys): See Thesaurus:friend
• (boyfriend or girlfriend): See Thesaurus:lover
• (person with whom you are acquainted): acquaintance, contact
• (person who provides assistance): ally
• (person who backs something): admirer, booster, champion, protagonist, supporter
• (form of address used in warning someone): buster, mate (British), pal, buddy, sonny

Antonyms[edit]

• (person whose company one enjoys): See Thesaurus:enemy
• (person with whom you are acquainted): stranger
• (person who provides assistance): enemy, foe

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• → Cantonese: friend (fen¹)
• → Finnish: frendi
• → Serbo-Croatian:
  • Latin script: frȅnd
  • Cyrillic script: фре̏нд

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

friend (third-person singular simple present friends, present participle friending, simple past and past participle friended)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii:

     Lo sluggish Knight the victors happie pray: / So fortune friends the bold […].

   • 1896, Alfred Edward Housman, A Shropshire Lad, LXII:

     ’Tis true, the stuff I bring for sale
     Is not so brisk a brew as ale:
     Out of a stem that scored the hand
     I wrung it in a weary land.
     But take it: if the smack is sour,
     The better for the embittered hour;
     It should do good to heart and head
     When your soul is in my soul’s stead;
     And I will friend you, if I may,
     In the dark and cloudy day.

2. (transitive) To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.
   • 2006, David Fono and Kate Raynes-Goldie, «Hyperfriendship and Beyond: Friends and Social Norms on LiveJournal» (PDF version), Internet Research Annual Volume 4, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 99,

     The difference between responses to the statement, «If someone friends me, I will friend them,» and «If I friend someone, I expect them to friend me back,» is telling.

   • 2006, Kevin Farnham; Dale G. Farnham, Myspace Safety: 51 Tips for Teens And Parents‎^[2], How-To Primers, →ISBN, page 69:

     One of the most used features of MySpace is the practice that is nicknamed «friending.» If you «friend» someone, then that person is added to your MySpace friends list, and you are added to their friends list.

Synonyms[edit]

• (to act as the friend of): befriend

Antonyms[edit]

• (social networking): defriend, unfriend

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• friend at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams[edit]

• Friden, finder, frined, redfin, refin’d, refind

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English friend.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

friend

1. (Cantonese) friend (Classifier: 個／个 c)

   佢係我個friend嚟㗎。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢系我个friend嚟㗎。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ hai⁶ ngo⁵ go³ fen¹ lai⁴ gaa³. [Jyutping]

   He’s my friend.

   • 我個friend話：「唔會衰嘅，邊有咁容易吖，世界咁多人死又唔見你去死。」 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我个friend话：“唔会衰嘅，边有咁容易吖，世界咁多人死又唔见你去死。” [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2008, 李紫媚 (Jessica Li), 《盜與罪：青少年犯罪預防理論與對策》 (Theft and delinquency: juvenile crime prevention theories and practice), page 180

     ngo⁵ go³ fen¹ waa⁶: “M⁴ wui⁵ seoi¹ ge³, bin¹ jau⁵ gam³ jung⁴ ji⁶ aa¹, sai³ gaai³ gam³ do¹ jan⁴ sei² jau⁶ m⁴ gin³ nei⁵ heoi³ sei².” [Jyutping]

     My friend said, «It’s not gonna go wrong. It’s not that easy [to go wrong]. There are so many people in the world, and I don’t see you dying.»

   • 喂，乜你班friend咁踢波嘅，係咪有啲唔對路？ [Cantonese, trad.]
     喂，乜你班friend咁踢波嘅，系咪有啲唔对路？ [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2015, Playboy 文 (pseudonym), 《港股策略王》, issue 18, page 69

     wai², mat¹ nei⁵ baan¹ fen¹ gam² tek³ bo¹ ge², hai⁶ mai⁶ jau⁵ di¹ m⁴ deoi³ lou⁶? [Jyutping]

     Hey, how come your friends play soccer like this. Is there some problem?

   • 我個friend叫我去佢屋企坐吓，但又唔話我知佢女友喺度，搞到我變咗做電燈膽。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我个friend叫我去佢屋企坐吓，但又唔话我知佢女友喺度，搞到我变咗做电灯胆。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2016, 董德偉, 《英語講呢D》, page 101

     ngo⁵ go³ fen¹ giu³ ngo⁵ heoi³ keoi⁵ uk¹ kei^5-2 co⁵ haa⁵, daan⁶ jau⁶ m⁴ waa⁶ ngo⁵ zi¹ keoi⁵ neoi⁵ jau⁵ hai² dou⁶, gaau² dou³ ngo⁵ bin³ zo² zou⁶ din⁶ dang¹ daam². [Jyutping]

     When my friend invited me to hang out at his house but he didn’t tell me that his girlfriend would be there too, he made me a third wheel.

2. (Cantonese, always with the classifier) the likes of; something similar to (Classifier: 啲 c)

   • 警方昨向黃發信，指漫畫提到假新聞是從「少年警訊啲friend傳出嚟㗎」，對漫畫的無理指控表達強烈不滿和關注，要求澄清。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     警方昨向黄发信，指漫画提到假新闻是从“少年警讯啲friend传出嚟㗎”，对漫画的无理指控表达强烈不满和关注，要求澄清。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     ging² fong¹ zok³ hoeng³ wong⁴ faat³ seon³, zi² maan⁶ waa² tai⁴ dou³ gaa² san¹ man⁴ si⁶ cung⁴ “siu³ nin⁴ ging² seon³ di¹ fen¹ cyun⁴ ceot¹ lai⁴ gaa³”, deoi³ maan⁶ waa² dik¹ mou⁴ lei⁵ zi² hung³ biu² daat⁶ koeng⁴ lit⁶ bat¹ mun⁵ wo⁴ gwaan¹ zyu³, jiu¹ kau⁴ cing⁴ cing¹. [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this example)

Synonyms[edit]

• (friend): 朋友 (péngyou)

Adjective[edit]

friend

1. (Cantonese) in a close or friendly relationship

   我哋好friend㗎。 [Cantonese]  ―  ngo⁵ dei⁶ hou² fen¹ gaa³. [Jyutping]  ―  We are really close.

   • 實行用㗎文跟佢friend吓 [Cantonese, trad.]
     实行用㗎文跟佢friend吓 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1985, 許冠傑, 《日本娃娃》

     sat⁶ hang⁴ jung⁶ gaa³ man^4-2 gan¹ keoi⁵ fen¹ haa² [Jyutping]

     Used a bit of Japanese to try and make friends with her

   • 「因為你哋五個好似好friend好開心噉喎。」 [Cantonese, trad.]
     “因为你哋五个好似好friend好开心噉㖞。” [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2011, TVB-J2, K-ON！！輕音少女 (K-On!!), season 2, episode 1

     “jan¹ wai⁴ nei⁵ dei⁶ ng⁵ go³ hou² ci⁵ hou² fen¹ hou² hoi¹ sam¹ gam² wo³.” [Jyutping]

     “It’s because you five seem so close and happy.”

   • 我叫奧古，和她識了很多年，算係好friend下。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我叫奥古，和她识了很多年，算系好friend下。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2013, 董啟章 (Dung Kai-cheung), 《體育時期（劇場版）【上學期】》, page 124

     ngo⁵ giu³ ou³ gu², wo⁴ taa¹ sik¹ liu⁵ han² do¹ nin⁴, syun³ hai⁶ hou² fen¹ haa⁵. [Jyutping]

     My name is Ou Gu. I knew her for many years, so we are pretty close.

   • 我唔想我哋只係喺呢段時間Friend返，我想我哋變返以前咁，Friend到乜都傾，平時大家有啲咩都會搵大家講。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我唔想我哋只系喺呢段时间Friend返，我想我哋变返以前咁，Friend到乜都倾，平时大家有啲咩都会揾大家讲。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2015, 少少肥 (pseudonym), 《自修室‧學界嘅蘭桂坊》, page 243

     ngo⁵ m⁴ soeng² ngo⁵ dei⁶ zi² hai⁶ hai² ni¹ dyun⁶ si⁴ gaan³ fen¹ faan¹, ngo⁵ soeng² ngo⁵ dei⁶ bin³ faan¹ ji⁵ cin⁴ gam², fen¹ dou³ mat¹ dou¹ king¹, ping⁴ si⁴ daai⁶ gaa¹ jau⁵ di¹ me¹ dou¹ wui⁵ wan² daai⁶ gaa¹ gong². [Jyutping]

     I don’t want us to just be close for this while. I want us to turn back into how we were before, when we were so close that we would chat about anything, when we would normally look for each other to talk if anything happens.

   • 不過始終大家都係細路，好快就friend咗，我個人好易相處，同香港人、印度人都相處到，所以其實讀咩學校都冇問題。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     不过始终大家都系细路，好快就friend咗，我个人好易相处，同香港人、印度人都相处到，所以其实读咩学校都冇问题。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 2016, 喬寶寶, (Q Bobo), 《香港製造》, page 32

     bat¹ gwo³ ci² zung¹ daai⁶ gaa¹ dou¹ hai⁶ sai³ lou⁶, hou² faai³ zau⁶ fen¹ zo², ngo⁵ go³ jan⁴ hou² ji⁶ soeng¹ cyu², tung⁴ hoeng¹ gong² jan⁴, jan³ dou⁶ jan⁴ dou¹ soeng¹ cyu² dou^3-2, so² ji⁵ kei⁴ sat⁶ duk⁶ me¹ hok⁶ haau⁶ dou¹ mou⁵ man⁶ tai⁴. [Jyutping]

     But since everyone is a kid, we quickly became close. I easily get along with others, no matter if it’s with Hong Kongers or Indians, so it doesn’t matter which school I go to.

References[edit]

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

friend

1. Alternative form of frend

Old English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /fri͜yːnd/

Noun[edit]

frīend

1. dative singular of frēond
2. nominative and accusative plural of frēond

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English friend.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɾend/ [ˈfɾẽn̪d̪]
• Rhymes: -end

Noun[edit]

friend m (plural friends)

1. (climbing) cam

Yola[edit]

Noun[edit]

friend

1. Alternative form of vriene

   • 1867, “VERSES IN ANSWER TO THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3:

     Mye thee friend ne’re waant welcome, nor straayart comfoort.

     May thy friend ne’er want welcome, nor the stranger comfort.

References[edit]

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 100

Word	FRIEND
Character	6
Hyphenation	friend
Pronunciations	/fɹɛnd/

Sorry, your browser does not support the audio element!

What do we mean by friend?

A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. noun

A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. noun

A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. noun

One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement. noun

A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker. noun

To add (someone) as a friend on a social networking website. transitive verb

To befriend. transitive verb

(be friends with) To be a friend of. idiom

One who is attached to another by feelings of personal regard and preference; one who entertains for another sentiments which lead him to seek his company and to study to promote his welfare. noun

One not hostile; one of the same nation, party, or kin; one at amity with another; an ally: opposed to foe or enemy. noun

One who is favorable, as to a cause, institution, or class; a favorer or promoter: as, a friend of or to commerce; a friend of or to public schools. noun

Used as a term of salutation, or in familiar address. noun

capitalized A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker. noun

A lover, of either sex. noun

In Scotslaw, a tutor or curator. noun

Synonyms Companion, Comrade, etc. See associate. noun

Patron, advocate, partizan, well-wisher. noun

To befriend.

One who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society and welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant. noun

One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address. noun

A person other than a family member, spouse or lover whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.

An associate who provides assistance.

A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.

A person who backs or supports something.

An object or idea that can be used for good.

(used only in the vocative) Used as a form of address when warning someone.

A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.

A spring-loaded camming device.

A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.

A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.

Nonexistent Urban Dictionary

The thing you dont have Urban Dictionary

A friend is someone you love and who loves you, someone you respect and who respects you, someone whom you trust and who trusts you. A friend is honest and makes you want to be honest, too. A friend is loyal.
A friend is someone who is happy to spend time with you doing absolutely nothing at all; someone who doesn’t mind driving you on stupid errands, who will get up at midnight just because you want to go on an adventure, and who doesn’t have to talk to communicate with you.
A friend is someone who not only doesn’t care if you’re ugly or boring, but doesn’t even think about it; someone who forgives you no matter what you do, and someone who tries to help you even when they don’t know how. A friend is someone who tells you if you’re being stupid, but who doesn’t make you feel stupid.
A friend is someone who would sacrifice their life and happiness for you. A friend is someone who will come with you when you have to do boring things like watch bad recitals, go to stuffy parties, or wait in boring lobbies. You don’t even think about who’s talking or who’s listening in a conversation with a friend.
A friend is someone for whom you’re willing to change your opinions. A friend is someone you look forward to seeing and who looks forward to seeing you: someone you like so much, it doesn’t matter if you share interests or traits. A friend is someone you like so much, you start to like the things they like.
A friend is a partner, not a leader or a follower. Urban Dictionary

«a friend is something you obviously don’t have, since you’re browsing urban dictionary instead of hanging out with them» Urban Dictionary

Somebody that you still care and share alot in common with & hang around alot with. You can trust this person with secrets and goof off with this person. This person is someone who doesn’t go off and tell everyone your most embarrassing stuff. This person this person isn’t a best friend but is a great friend.
look up best friend Urban Dictionary

A person who would never intentionally hurt you, lie to you, deceive you, manipulate you, abuse you and who takes great care to be kind to you, honest with you, dependable and loyal. Someone who you trust without question because they have never given you any reason not to trust them. Someone you enjoy being around and look forward to seeing. Someone who would sacrifice themself for you. Urban Dictionary

A good friend will bail you outta jail.
a best friend will be right there next to you saying «dude that was fucking awesome!!!!!!!» Urban Dictionary

In friend there is an R that stands for real, without the R its fiend, a merciless demon only wanting to destroy you. Urban Dictionary

Verb—the act of adding someone to your social networking profile. Urban Dictionary

FRIEND-
» a kindred spirit. Someone who is born with a similar molecular structure as yourself and therefore interprets life through similar alien eyes thereby living on the same alien plane that you do.» Urban Dictionary

friend

 (frĕnd)

n.

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.

3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement.

5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.

tr.v. friend·ed, friend·ing, friends

1. Informal To add (someone) as a friend on a social networking website.

2. Archaic To befriend.

Idiom:

be friends with

To be a friend of: I am friends with my neighbor.

---

---

friend′less adj.

friend′less·ness n.

Word History: The relationship between Latin amīcus, «friend,» and amō, «I love,» is clear, as is the relationship between Greek philos, «friend,» and phileō, «I love.» In English, though, we have to go back a millennium before we see the verb that we can easily connect to friend. Frēond, the Old English source of Modern English friend, is related to the Old English verb frēon, «to love, like, honor, set free (from slavery or confinement).» Specifically, frēond comes from the present participle of the Germanic ancestor of Old English frēon and thus originally meant «one who loves.» (The Old English verb frēon, «to love, set free,» by the way, survives today in Modern English as to free.) The Germanic root of frēond and frēon is *frī-, which meant «to like, love, be friendly to.» Closely linked to these concepts is that of «peace,» and in fact Germanic made a noun from this root, *frithu-, meaning exactly that. Ultimately descended from this noun are the personal names Frederick, «peaceful ruler,» and Siegfried, «victory peace.» The root also shows up in the name of the Germanic deity Frigg, the goddess of love, who lives on today in the word Friday, «day of Frigg,» from an ancient translation of Latin Veneris diēs, «day of Venus.»

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

friend

(frɛnd)

n

1. a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate

2. an acquaintance or associate

3. an ally in a fight or cause; supporter

4. a fellow member of a party, society, etc

5. a patron or supporter: a friend of the opera.

6. be friends to be friendly (with)

7. make friends to become friendly (with)

vb (tr)

8. (Communications & Information) to add (a person) to one’s list of contacts on a social networking website

[Old English frēond; related to Old Saxon friund, Old Norse frǣndi, Gothic frijōnds, Old High German friunt]

ˈfriendless adj

ˈfriendlessness n

ˈfriendship n

---

Friend

(frɛnd)

n

(Protestantism) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; Quaker

---

Friend

(frɛnd)

n

(Mountaineering) trademark mountaineering a device consisting of a shaft with double-headed spring-loaded cams that can be wedged in a crack to provide an anchor point

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

friend

(frɛnd)

n.

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.

5. (cap.) a member of the Society of Friends; Quaker.

v.t.

6. Archaic. to befriend.

Idioms:

make friends with, to enter into friendly relations with; become a friend to.

[before 900; Middle English friend, frend, Old English frēond friend, lover, relative (c. Old Saxon friund, Old High German friunt), orig. present participle of frēogan to love]

friend′less, adj.

friend′less•ness, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

friend

1. ‘friend’

Your friends are people you know well and like spending time with. You can refer to a friend who you know very well as a good friend or a close friend.

He’s a good friend of mine.

A close friend told me about it.

If someone has been your friend for a long time, you can refer to them as an old friend. He or she is not necessarily an old person.

I went back to my hometown and visited some old friends.

2. ‘be friends with’

If someone is your friend, you can say that you are friends with them.

You used to be good friends with him, didn’t you?

I also became friends with Melanie.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

friend

Past participle: friended
Gerund: friending

Imperative
friend
friend

Present
I friend
you friend
he/she/it friends
we friend
you friend
they friend

Preterite
I friended
you friended
he/she/it friended
we friended
you friended
they friended

Present Continuous
I am friending
you are friending
he/she/it is friending
we are friending
you are friending
they are friending

Present Perfect
I have friended
you have friended
he/she/it has friended
we have friended
you have friended
they have friended

Past Continuous
I was friending
you were friending
he/she/it was friending
we were friending
you were friending
they were friending

Past Perfect
I had friended
you had friended
he/she/it had friended
we had friended
you had friended
they had friended

Future
I will friend
you will friend
he/she/it will friend
we will friend
you will friend
they will friend

Future Perfect
I will have friended
you will have friended
he/she/it will have friended
we will have friended
you will have friended
they will have friended

Future Continuous
I will be friending
you will be friending
he/she/it will be friending
we will be friending
you will be friending
they will be friending

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been friending
you have been friending
he/she/it has been friending
we have been friending
you have been friending
they have been friending

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been friending
you will have been friending
he/she/it will have been friending
we will have been friending
you will have been friending
they will have been friending

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been friending
you had been friending
he/she/it had been friending
we had been friending
you had been friending
they had been friending

Conditional
I would friend
you would friend
he/she/it would friend
we would friend
you would friend
they would friend

Past Conditional
I would have friended
you would have friended
he/she/it would have friended
we would have friended
you would have friended
they would have friended

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Translations

Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:3.6 / 20 votes

1. friendnoun

   a person you know well and regard with affection and trust

   «he was my best friend at the university»

2. ally, friendnoun

   an associate who provides cooperation or assistance

   «he’s a good ally in fight»

3. acquaintance, friendnoun

   a person with whom you are acquainted

   «I have trouble remembering the names of all my acquaintances»; «we are friends of the family»

4. supporter, protagonist, champion, admirer, booster, friendnoun

   a person who backs a politician or a team etc.

   «all their supporters came out for the game»; «they are friends of the library»

5. Friend, Quakernoun

   a member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.8 / 13 votes

1. friendnoun

   A person other than a family member, spouse or lover whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.

2. friendnoun

   A boyfriend or girlfriend.

   See

3. friendnoun

   An associate who provides assistance.

4. friendnoun

   A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted

5. friendnoun

   A person who backs or supports something.

   I’m not a friend of cheap wine.

6. friendnoun

   An object or idea that can be used for good.

   Google is your friend.

7. friendnoun

   Used as a form of address when warning someone.

   You’d better watch it, friend.

8. friendnoun

   In object-oriented programming, a function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.

9. friendverb

   To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.

10. friendverb

    To add a person to a list of friends on one’s social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.

11. Friendnoun

    A Quaker; a member of the Society of Friends.

12. Friendnoun

    (rock-climbing) Brand name of a spring-loaded camming device now manufactured by Wild Country. Now used (often without initial capital) to refer to any such device.

    See

13. Etymology: From frend, freond, from freond, from frijōndz, from prēy-. Cognate with freon, froen, freondinne, vriend, frund, fründ, Freund, frænde, frände, frændi, 034603420339033E0349033D03330343. More at free.

Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FRIENDnoun

   Etymology: vriend, Dutch; freond, Saxon.

   1. One joined to another in mutual benevolence and intimacy: opposed to foe or enemy.

   Friends of my soul, you twain
   Rule in this realm, and the gor’d state sustain.
   William Shakespeare.

   Some man is a friend for his own occasion, and will not abide in the day of thy trouble.
   Ecclus. vi. 8.

   God’s benison go with you, and with those
   That would make good of bad, and friends of foes.
   William Shakespeare.

   Wonder not to see this soul extend
   The bounds, and seek some other self, a friend.
   Dryden.

   2. One without hostile intentions.

   Who comes so fast in silence of the night?
   —— A friend.
   —— What friend? your name?
   William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   3. One reconciled to another: this is put by the custom of the language somewhat irregularly in the plural number.

   He’s friends with Cæsar,
   In state of health thou say’st, and thou say’st free.
   William Shakespeare.

   My son came then into my mind; and yet my mind
   Was then scarce friends with him.
   William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   4. An attendant, or companion.

   The king ordains their entrance, and ascends
   His regal seat, surrounded by his friends.
   John Dryden, Æn.

   5. Favourer; one propitious.

   Aurora riding upon Pegasus, sheweth her swiftness, and how she is a friend to poetry and all ingenious inventions.
   Henry Peacham.

   6. A familiar compellation.

   Friend, how camest thou in hither?
   Mat. xxii. 12.

   What supports me, do’st thou ask?
   The conscience, friend, t’have lost mine eyes o’erply’d
   In liberty’s defence.
   John Milton.

2. To Friendverb

   To favour; to befriend; to countenance; to support.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   I know that we shall have him well to friend.
   William Shakespeare.

   When vice makes mercy, mercy’s so extended,
   That, for the fault’s love, is th’ offender friended.
   William Shakespeare.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. friend

   Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an «acquaintance» or an «association», such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague.
   In some cultures, the concept of friendship is restricted to a small number of very deep relationships; in others, such as the U.S. and Canada, a person could have many friends, and perhaps a more intense relationship with one or two people, who may be called good friends or best friends. Other colloquial terms include besties or Best Friends Forever (BFFs). Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many such bonds. Such features include choosing to be with one another, enjoying time spent together, and being able to engage in a positive and supportive role to one another.Sometimes friends are distinguished from family, as in the saying «friends and family», and sometimes from lovers (e.g., «lovers and friends»), although the line is blurred with friends with benefits. Similarly, the friend zone is a term for when someone is restricted from rising up to the status of lover, hence the name (see also Unrequited love).
   Friendship has been studied in academic fields, such as communication, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and philosophy. Various academic theories of friendship have been proposed, including social exchange theory, equity theory, relational dialectics, and attachment styles.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 3 votes

1. Friendnoun

   one who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society aud welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant

2. Friendnoun

   one not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address

3. Friendnoun

   one who looks propitiously on a cause, an institution, a project, and the like; a favorer; a promoter; as, a friend to commerce, to poetry, to an institution

4. Friendnoun

   one of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers

5. Friendnoun

   a paramour of either sex

6. Friendverb

   to act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend

7. Etymology: [OE. frend, freond, AS. frend, prop. p. pr. of fren, fregan, to love; akin to D. vriend friend, OS. friund friend, friohan to love, OHG. friunt friend, G. freund, Icel. frndi kinsman, Sw. frnde. Goth. frijnds friend, frijn to love. 83. See Free, and cf. Fiend.]

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Friend

   Friend is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,027.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Friend

   frend, n. one loving or attached to another: an intimate acquaintance: a favourer: one of a society so called: (Scot.) a relative.—v.t. (obs.) to befriend.—adj. Friend′ed, supplied with friends.—n. Friend′ing (Shak.), friendliness.—adj. Friend′less, without friends: destitute.—n. Friend′lessness.—adv. Friend′lily.—n. Friend′liness.—adj. Friend′ly, like a friend: having the disposition of a friend: favourable: pertaining to the Friends or Quakers.—n. Friend′ship, attachment from mutual esteem: friendly assistance.—Friendly societies, or Benefit societies, associations, chiefly among mechanics, &c., for relief during sickness, old age, widowhood, by provident insurance.—Be friends with, to be on intimate or friendly relations with; Have a friend at court, to have a friend in a position where his influence is likely to prove useful; Society of Friends, the designation proper of a sect of Christians better known as Quakers. [A.S. fréond, pr.p. of fréon, to love; Ger. freund.]

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. friend

   The masterpiece of Nature.

Rap DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. friendnoun

   A firearm, orginally from the movie Scarface. «Stay in your place I recommend, Or say hello to my little friend» — G-Unit (My Buddy)

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. friend

   A person we love to share time with.

   We are so grateful in life to have a friend.

   Submitted by MaryC on July 17, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. friend

   Song lyrics by friend — Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by friend on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FRIEND

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Friend is ranked #2041 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

   The Friend surname appeared 17,635 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 would have the surname Friend.

   86.4% or 15,237 total occurrences were White.
   7.3% or 1,287 total occurrences were Black.
   2.7% or 490 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   2% or 365 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.7% or 129 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   0.7% or 127 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

1. • Christian
   • Advocate
   • Associate
   • Person

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘friend’ in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #579

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘friend’ in Written Corpus Frequency: #803

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘friend’ in Nouns Frequency: #76

How to pronounce friend?

How to say friend in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of friend in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of friend in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of friend in a Sentence

1. Volodymyr Zelensky:

   Frankly, I don’t know who’s behind it yet, sending me a message by shooting at my friend‘s car is weakness.

2. Vladimir Putin:

   In 2014 I had a meeting with a political-military representative in Ukraine, and we did n’t want to let everyone know who we were, i discussed this with my friend and made a decision that he would call me ‘ Igor ’ and I ’d also use another name for him.

3. Miriam Kirmayer:

   It’s often less about these kinds of grand overtures that we can make in our relationships and more about the small moments of letting a friend know that we’re thinking of them.

4. Ohio Gov. John Kasich:

   I went home and I said to my wife, ‘my friend‘s getting married. What do you think? You wanna go?’ She goes, ‘Oh, I’m absolutely going.’ I called him today and said, ‘Hey, just let me know what time it is,’ my friend knows how I feel about the issue, but I’m not here to have a war with him. I care about my friend, and so it’s pretty simple for me.

5. Timothy Zahn:

   Mourning the loss of a friend and teacher was both fitting and honorable, but to dwell unnecessarily on that loss was to give the past too much power over the present.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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