fellow

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈfɛloʊ/ UK /ˈfɛləʊ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like fallow /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #1412

Meanings

1

noun
A man or boy, often used in a friendly or casual way.

He seems like a pleasant fellow.
2

noun
Someone who belongs to the same group as you.

She thanked her fellow students for their support.
3

noun
A member of a learned or professional society.

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a man or boy, often used in... chap guy

Word family

Forms fellows

Derived forms bedfellow benchfellowblackfellowbyfellowclanfellow classfellowclubfellowcoachfellowfellafellah fellerfellow-commoner

Appears in

Phrases (3)

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Proverbs (1)

See all

Don't kick a fellow when he is down

Etymology

From Middle English felowe, Early Middle English felage (“companion, good friend”) from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi, derived from félag (“joint venture; partnership”, literally “a laying together of property”), from fé (“livestock, property; money”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)) + lag (“something laid down; right position; arrangement; companionship, fellowship; partnership”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”)). Cognates * Old Norse filaga, felaka (“partner”, accusative singular), from which the other terms are derived…

*peḱ- Proto-Indo-European felowe Middle English felage Middle English fēolaga Old English félagi Old Norse *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# fellow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɛloʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɛləʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 1412

## Meanings
1. A man or boy, often used in a friendly or casual way.
2. Someone who belongs to the same group as you.
3. A member of a learned or professional society.

## Examples
- He seems like a pleasant fellow.
- She thanked her fellow students for their support.
- He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

## Derived Forms
- bedfellow
- benchfellow
- blackfellow
- byfellow
- clanfellow
- classfellow
- clubfellow
- coachfellow
- fella
- fellah
- feller
- fellow-commoner

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peḱ-
- Root: felowe
- Root: felage
- Root: fēolaga
- Root: félagi
- Root: *legʰ-

## Etymology
From Middle English felowe, Early Middle English felage (“companion, good friend”) from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi, derived from félag (“joint venture; partnership”, literally “a laying together of property”), from fé (“livestock, property; money”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)) + lag (“something laid down; right position; arrangement; companionship, fellowship; partnership”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”)). Cognates * Old Norse filaga, felaka (“partner”, accusative singular), from which the other terms are derived…

## AI Etymology
Fellow comes from Middle English felowe, Early Middle English felage (“companion, good friend”) from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi, derived from félag (“joint venture; partnership”, literally “a laying together of property”), from fé (“livestock, property; money”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)) + lag (“something laid down; right position; arrangement; companionship, fellowship; partnership”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”)). In current use, the main senses are “A man or boy, often used in a friendly or casual way” and “Someone who belongs to the same group as you”.

## Topics
- People & Society

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