Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “friendship” come from?

Friendship derives from Middle English frendshipe, Old English frēondsċipe, Proto-West Germanic friundskapi, Proto-Germanic frijōndz, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European preyH-, prāy-, and prēy-.

friendship (English): The condition of being friends; A friendly...

Definitions

  1. The condition of being friends; A friendly...

Ancestry of “friendship”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfrendshipeAlternative form of frendschip
2Old Englishfrēondsċipe—
3Proto-West Germanicfriundskapifriendship
4Proto-West Germanic-skapiForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
5Proto-Germanic-skapizForms nouns denoting state, originally meaning...
6Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...

Words derived from “friendship”

  • unfriendship
  • guestfriendship
  • friendshipless
  • friendshipper
  • friendshippy
  • friendshipy
  • friendshiplike
  • cyberfriendship
Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →