Where does “friar” come from?
Friar comes from Latin frater meaning brother, which derives from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr with the same sense.
friar (English): A member of a mendicant Christian order such as...
Definitions
- A member of a mendicant Christian order such as...
Ancestry of “friar”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | frere | any of one's male associates, friends, buddies,... |
| 2 | Old French | frere | brother |
| 3 | Latin | frāter | — |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | frātēr | brother |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰréh₂tēr | brother |
Words derived from “friar”