pal

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /pæl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like pol /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #1785

Meanings

1

noun
A friend; someone you spend time with.

Little Timmy is outside playing with his pals.
2

noun
An informal way of addressing someone, sometimes used in an unfriendly way.

Don't you threaten me, pal, or I'll call the police.
3

verb
To become friends and spend time with someone.

She quickly palled up with the other new students.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a friend; someone you spend... chum

3 verb · to become friends and spend... pal aroundpal up

Word family

Forms paledpalingpalledpallingpals

Derived forms anipalcyberpale-palgalpalkeypalpalimonypallypalpluspalshippalsypaypal

Related forms pla

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pen pal
a friend maintained mainly through exchanging letters or messages

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Pal entered English in the late 17th century from a Romani word meaning ‘brother, mate’. The Romani word descends from Sanskrit bhrātṛ ‘brother’.

Etymology

PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Borrowed from Angloromani pal (“brother, friend”), from Romani phral (“brother”), from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, friar, and vai.

pal rme phral rom भ्रातृ Sanskrit

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Register & Style

External links

# pal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /pæl/
**Frequency rank:** 1785

## Meanings
1. A friend; someone you spend time with.
2. An informal way of addressing someone, sometimes used in an unfriendly way.
3. To become friends and spend time with someone.

## Examples
- Little Timmy is outside playing with his pals.
- Don't you threaten me, pal, or I'll call the police.
- She quickly palled up with the other new students.

## Derived Forms
- anipal
- cyberpal
- e-pal
- galpal
- keypal
- palimony
- pally
- palplus
- palship
- palsy
- paypal

## Related Forms
- pla

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pal
- Root: phral
- Root: भ्रातृ

## Etymology
PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Borrowed from Angloromani pal (“brother, friend”), from Romani phral (“brother”), from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, friar, and vai.

## AI Etymology
Pal was borrowed from Angloromani pal (“brother, friend”), from Romani phral (“brother”), from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, friar, and vai. The historical chain includes rme pal, rom phral, and Sanskrit भ्रातृ. Modern senses include a friend; someone you spend time with and an informal way of addressing someone, sometimes used in an unfriendly way. The wider word family includes derivatives such as anipal, cyberpal, e-pal, galpal, keypal, and palimony and related forms such as pla.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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pal