friend

O.E. freond, prp. of freogan "to love, to favor," from P.Gmc. *frijojanan "to love" (cf. O.N. frndi, O.Fris. friund, M.H.G. friunt, Ger. Freund, Goth. frijonds "friend," all alike from prp. forms). Related to O.E. freo "free." 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. Related: Friends. As a verb, in the Facebook sense, attested from 2005.

friendly

O.E. freondlic; see friend + -ly (1). Related: Friendliness.

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."

Winfred

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

Baldwin

masc. proper name, from O.Fr. Baldoin (Mod.Fr. Baudouin), from a Germanic source, cf. O.H.G. Baldawin, lit. "bold friend," from bald "bold" (see bold) + wini "friend" (see win). A popular Flemish name, common in England before and after the Conquest.

Edwin

masc. proper name, from O.E. Ead-wine, lit. "prosperity-friend."

boffin

"person engaged in innovative research," especially in aviation, 1945; earlier "elderly naval officer" (1941), probably from one of the "Mr. Boffins" of English literature (e.g. "Our Mutual Friend").

crony

1660s, Cambridge student slang, probably from Gk. khronios "long-lasting," from khronos "time," and with a sense of "old friend," or "contemporary."

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.

ami

14c., "friend lover," from O.Fr. amy, ami (see Amy).

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).

Irwin

O.E. Eoforwine "boar-friend;" often confused with Irving, Irvin, which are from Irvine, Ayrshire, or Irving, Dumfries.

password

"word appointed as a sign to distinguish friend from foe," 1798, from pass (v.) + word.

Kilroy

U.S. military graffito character dates to 1945 and is said to be either Sgt. Francis J. Kilroy Jr., U.S. Army Air Transport, whose friend or friends began writing his name everywhere as a prank; or war materils inspector James J. Kilroy of Quincy, Mass., who wrote "Kilroy was here" on everything he checked.

amicable

1530s, from L.L. amicabilis "friendly," a word in Roman law, from L. amicus "friend," related to amare "to love" (see Amy).

David

masc. proper name, in O.T. second king of Israel and Judah and author of psalms, from Heb. Dawidh, lit. "darling, beloved friend." The name was common in England and Scotland by 12c., but much earlier in Wales. A nickname form was Dawe, hence surnames Dawson, Dawkins. A top 10 list name for boys born in the U.S. from 1934 to 1992.

alter ego

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

gibbon

1770, from Fr., supposedly from a word in the Fr. colonies of India but not found in any language there. Brought to Europe by Marquis Joseph-Franois Dupleix (1697-1763), Fr. governor general in India, 1742-54. The surname is O.Fr. Giboin, from Frank. *Geba-win "gift-friend," or in some cases a dim. of Gibb, itself a familiar form of Gilbert.

unfriendly

early 15c., "not characteristic of friends," from un- (1) "not" + friendly (see friend). Cf. M.Du. onvriendelijc, M.H.G. unvriuntlich, Ger. unfreundlich. Meaning "hostile, inimical" is recorded from late 15c.

trout

O.E. truht "trout," in part from O.Fr. truite, both from L.L. tructa, perhaps from Gk. troktes "a kind of sea fish," lit. "nibbler," from trogein "to gnaw," from PIE base *tere- (see throw). In late 17c. slang, trusty trout was used in a sense of "confidential friend."

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.

Mithras

Persian god of light, 1550s, from L., from Gk. Mithras, from Avestan Mithra-, from Indo-Iranian *mitram "contract," whence *mitras "contractual partner, friend," conceptualized as a god, or, according to Kent, first the epithet of a divinity and eventually his name; from PIE base *mei- "to bind" (see mitre). Related to Skt. Mitrah, a Vedic deity associated with Varuna. "His name is one of the earliest Indic words we possess, being found in clay tablets from Anatolia dating to about 1500 B.C." [Calvert Watkins, "Dictionary of Indo-European Roots," 2000].

host (1)

"person who receives guests," late 13c., from O.Fr. hoste "guest, host" (12c.), 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. The verb is early 15c., from the noun. Related: Hosted; hosting.

amiable

mid-14c., from O.Fr. amiable, from L.L. amicabilis "friendly," from amicus "friend," related to amare "to love" (see Amy). The form confused in O.Fr. with amable "lovable," from L. amare. Reborrowed later in proper L. form as amicable.

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