friar

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a male member of a Christian mendicant order, such as the Franciscans or Dominicans

   The friar traveled from village to village preaching and relying on alms.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Friar came in Middle English from Old French frere, which derives from Latin frater, “brother.” Fraternal and fraternity share the same Latin source.

From Middle English frere, from Old French frere, 'brother,' from Latin frater. Members of mendicant orders addressed one another as brothers, and the kinship term became the English title friar. It is an etymological doublet of frater and a distant relative of brother.

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