workfellow

C2+ Topic:Work & Careers

US /ˈwɝk.fɛl.oʊ/ UK /ˈwɜːk.fel.əʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a fellow worker; a colleague

His old workfellow stopped by to share lunch.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a fellow worker; a colleague colleaguecoworkerworkmateassociate collaborator partner

Word family

Related forms work fellow

Etymology

A compound of work + fellow ('companion, associate'); work is from Old English weorc, and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money jointly').

weorc Old English félagi Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Work & Careers

External links

# workfellow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɝk.fɛl.oʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɜːk.fel.əʊ/

## Meanings
1. a fellow worker; a colleague

## Examples
- His old workfellow stopped by to share lunch.

## Synonyms
- colleague
- coworker
- workmate
- associate
- collaborator
- partner

## Related Forms
- work
- fellow

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

## Etymology
A compound of work + fellow ('companion, associate'); work is from Old English weorc, and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money jointly').

## AI Etymology
Workfellow is a compound of work + fellow ('companion, associate'); work is from Old English weorc, and fellow from Old Norse félagi ('partner, one who lays down money jointly'). In current use it is a noun meaning "a fellow worker; a colleague". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English weorc and Old Norse félagi. Related English forms include work and fellow. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Work & Careers

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