bedfellow

C2+ Topic:People & Society

Also spelled bed-fellow

US /ˈbɛdˌfɛloʊ/ UK /ˈbɛdˌfɛləʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who shares a bed; an associate or ally

Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who shares a bed;... associate ally companion partner colleague comrade

Opposites

opponent adversary rival

Word family

Related forms bed fellow

Etymology

A compound of bed + fellow. Fellow is from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money'), from fé ('money, cattle') + lag ('a laying down').

bedd Old English félagi Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# bedfellow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɛdˌfɛloʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɛdˌfɛləʊ/

## Meanings
1. a person who shares a bed; an associate or ally

## Examples
- Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows.

## Synonyms
- associate
- ally
- companion
- partner
- colleague
- comrade

## Antonyms
- opponent
- adversary
- rival

## Related Forms
- bed
- fellow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bedd
- Root: félagi

## Etymology
A compound of bed + fellow. Fellow is from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money'), from fé ('money, cattle') + lag ('a laying down').

## AI Etymology
Bedfellow is a noun meaning "a person who shares a bed; an associate or ally". Historically, it is a compound of bed + fellow. Fellow is from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money'), from fé ('money, cattle') + lag ('a laying down'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: bedfellow is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Old English bedd with Old Norse félagi. Close English family members include bed, and fellow.

## Topics
- People & Society

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