friend (n.)

O.E. freond "friend," prp. of freogan "to love, to favor," from P.Gmc. *frijojanan "to love" (cf. O.N. frændi, O.Fris. friund, M.H.G. friunt, Ger. Freund, Goth. frijonds "friend," all alike from prp. forms). Related to O.E. freo "free" (see free (adj.)). Meaning "a Quaker" (a member of the Society of Friends) is from 1670s. Feond ("fiend," originally "enemy") and freond often were paired alliteratively in O.E.; both are masculine agent nouns derived from prp. of verbs, but are not directly related to one another (see fiend). Related: Friends.

friendship

O.E. freondscipe; see friend + -ship.

friendless

O.E. freondleas; see friend (n.) + -less. Related: Friendlessly; friendlessness.

Achates

armor-bearer and faithful friend of Aeneas in the "Aeneid," hence sometimes used figuratively for "faithful friend." The name is from Gk. akhates "agate."

droog

"gang member, young ruffian," a transliteration of the Russian word for "friend," introduced by English novelist Anthony Burgess in "A Clockwork Orange" (1962). The Russian word comes from O.C.S. drugu "companion, friend, other" (cf. Boh. drug "companion," Serbo-Cr. drugi "other"), which belongs to a group of related IE words (cf. Lith. draugas "friend, traveling companion;" Goth. driugan "do military service," ga-drauhts "soldier;" O.N. drott, O.E. dryht, O.H.G. truht "multitude, people, army") apparently with an original sense of "companion."

Winfred

masc. proper name, from O.E. Winfrið, lit. "friend of peace," from wine "friend" (related to winnan "to strive, struggle, fight;" see win) + friðu "peace" (see free)

twitterpated

1942, apparently first attested in the Walt Disney movie Bambi (there also was a song by that name but it was not in the studio release of the film), a pp. adjective formed from twitter + pate (2) "head" (cf. flutterpated, 1894).

Thumper: Why are they acting that way?
Friend Owl: Why, don't you know? They're twitterpated.
Flower, Bambi, Thumper: Twitterpated?
Friend Owl: Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You're walking along, minding your own business. You're looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo! You begin to get weak in the knees. Your head's in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it, you're walking on air. And then you know what? You're knocked for a loop, and you completely lose your head!
Thumper: Gosh, that's awful.

matey

1833, dim. of mate (n.) in its male friend sense.

free (adj.)

O.E. freo "free, exempt from, not in bondage," also "noble; joyful," from P.Gmc. *frijaz (cf. O.Fris. fri, O.S., O.H.G. vri, Ger. frei, Du. vrij, Goth. freis "free"), from PIE *prijos "dear, beloved," from base *pri- "to love" (cf. Skt. priyah "own, dear, beloved," priyate "loves;" O.C.S. prijati "to help," prijatelji "friend;" Welsh rhydd "free"). The adverb is from O.E. freon, freogan "to free, love."

The primary sense seems to have been "beloved, friend, to love;" which in some languages (notably Germanic and Celtic) developed also a sense of "free," perhaps from the terms "beloved" or "friend" being applied to the free members of one's clan (as opposed to slaves, cf. L. liberi, meaning both "free" and "children"). Cf. Goth. frijon "to love;" O.E. freod "affection, friendship," friga "love," friðu "peace;" O.N. friðr, Ger. Friede "peace;" O.E. freo "wife;" O.N. Frigg "wife of Odin," lit. "beloved" or "loving;" M.L.G. vrien "to take to wife, Du. vrijen, Ger. freien "to woo."

Of nations, "not subject to foreign rule or to despotism," it is recorded from late 14c. (Free world "non-communist nations" attested from 1950.) Sense of "given without cost" is 1580s, from notion of "free of cost." Free lunch, originally offered in bars to draw in business, by 1850, Amer.Eng. Free pass on railways, etc., attested by 1850. Free speech in Britain used of a privilege in Parliament since the time of Henry VIII. In U.S., as a civil right, it became a prominent phrase in the debates over the Gag Rule (1836). Free enterprise recorded from 1890; free trade is from 1823. Free will is from early 13c. Free association in psychology is from 1899. Free love "sexual liberation" attested from 1822. Free range (adj.) is attested by 1960. Free and easy "unrestrained" is from 1690s.

Darwin

surname attested from 12c., from O.E. deorwine, lit. "dear friend," probably used as a given name and also the source of the masc. proper name Derwin.

Knickerbocker

"descendant of Dutch settlers of New York," 1831, from Diedrich Knickerbocker, the name under which Washington Irving published his popular "History of New York" (1809). The pen-name was borrowed from Irving's friend Herman Knickerbocker, and literally means "toy marble-baker."

sahib

respectful address to Europeans in India, 1670s, from Hindi or Urdu sahib "master, lord," from Arabic, originally "friend, companion," from sahiba "he accompanied."

homeboy

"person from one's hometown," 1940s, Amer.Eng., black slang, also originally with overtones of "simpleton." With many variants (cf. homebuddy, homeslice, both 1980s, with meaning shading toward "good friend"). The word had been used by Ruskin (1886) with the sense "stay-at-home male," and it was Canadian slang for "boy brought up in an orphanage or other institution" (1913).

boyfriend

"woman's paramour," 1909, from boy + friend.

unfriend (v.)

in the Facebook sense, attested from November 2007, from un- (1) "not" + friend. A noun unfriend "enemy" is recorded from late 13c., chiefly in Scottish, and was still in use in the 19th century.

philo-

prefix meaning "loving, fond of, tending to," from Gk. philo-, comb. form of philos "dear" (adj.), "friend" (n.), from philein "to love," of unknown origin. Productive of a great many compounds in ancient Greek.

alter ego

1530s, from Latin phrase (used by Cicero), "a second self, a trusted friend" (cf. Gk. allos ego); see alter and ego.

compere

1738, from Fr. compère "a godfather," from O.Fr. compere (13c., from M.L. compater) "godfather," also a friendly greeting, "friend, brother," hence "fellow, familiar, intimate."

amicable

early 15c., from L.L. amicabilis "friendly," a word in Roman law, from L. amicus "friend," related to amare "to love" (see Amy). Cf. also amiable.

main (adj.)

early 13c., "large, bulky, strong," from O.E. mægen- "power, strength, force," used in compounds (see main (n.)), probably infl. by O.N. megenn (adj.) "strong, powerful." Sense of "chief" is c.1400. Main man "favorite male friend; hero" is from 1967, U.S. black slang.

befriend

1550s, from be- + friend (q.v.). Related: Befriended; befriending.

imaginary

"not real," late 14c., ymaginaire, from imagine + -ary; or else from L.L. imaginarius "seeming, fancied," from imaginari. Imaginary friend (one who does not exist) attested by 1789.

confidant

1610s, confident, "(male) person trusted with private affairs," from Fr. confident (16c.), from It. confidente "a trusty friend," lit. "confident, trusty," from L. confidentem (nom. confidens), prp. of confidere "to trust, confide" (see confidence). The spelling with -a- came to predominate 18c. and might reflect the French pronunciation.

mentor

"wise advisor," 1750, from Gk. Mentor, character in the "Odyssey," friend of Odysseus, adviser of Telemachus (often actually Athene in disguise), perhaps ult. meaning "adviser," since the name appears to be an agent noun of mentos "intent, purpose, spirit, passion" from PIE *mon-eyo- (cf. Skt. man-tar- "one who thinks," L. mon-i-tor "one who admonishes"), causative form of base *men- "to think" (see mental). Related: Mentored; mentoring.

host (n.1)

"person who receives guests," late 13c., from O.Fr. hoste "guest, host, hostess, landlord" (12c., Mod.Fr. hôte), from L. hospitem (nom. hospes) "guest, host," lit. "lord of strangers," from PIE *ghostis- "stranger" (cf. O.C.S. gosti "guest, friend," gospodi "lord, master;" see guest). The biological sense of "animal or plant having a parasite" is from 1857.

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