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FRIEND
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("Friend" is a kind of...):
Christian (a religious person who believes Jesus is the Christ and who is a member of a Christian denomination)
Instance hyponyms:
Penn; William Penn (Englishman and Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania (1644-1718))
Holonyms ("Friend" is a member of...):
Quakers; Religious Society of Friends; Society of Friends (a Christian sect founded by George Fox about 1660; commonly called Quakers)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A person with whom you are acquainted
Example:
we are friends of the family
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("friend" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "friend"):
class fellow; classmate; schoolfellow; schoolmate (an acquaintance that you go to school with)
pickup (a casual acquaintance; often made in hope of sexual relationships)
messmate ((nautical) an associate with whom you share meals in the same mess (as on a ship))
homeboy (a male friend from your neighborhood or hometown)
end man (a man at one end of a row of people)
connection ((usually plural) a person who is influential and to whom you are connected in some way (as by family or friendship))
campmate (someone who lives in the same camp you do)
bunkmate (someone who occupies the same sleeping quarters as yourself)
Derivation:
friendship (the state of being friends (or friendly))
Sense 3
Meaning:
An associate who provides cooperation or assistance
Example:
he's a good ally in fight
Synonyms:
ally; friend
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("friend" is a kind of...):
associate (a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "friend"):
blood brother (a male sworn (usually by a ceremony involving the mingling of blood) to treat another as his brother)
Antonym:
foe (a personal enemy)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A person you know well and regard with affection and trust
Example:
he was my best friend at the university
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("friend" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "friend"):
schoolfriend (a friend who attends the same school)
roomie; roommate; roomy (an associate who shares a room with you)
mate (informal term for a friend of the same sex)
light (a person regarded very fondly)
girlfriend (any female friend)
flatmate (an associate who shares an apartment with you)
confidant; intimate (someone to whom private matters are confided)
associate; companion; comrade; familiar; fellow (a friend who is frequently in the company of another)
brother; buddy; chum; crony; pal; sidekick (a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities)
brother; comrade (used as a term of address for those male persons engaged in the same movement)
best friend (the one friend who is closest to you)
amigo (a friend or comrade)
alter ego (a very close and trusted friend who seems almost a part of yourself)
Instance hyponyms:
Phintias; Pythias (friend of Damon; Phintias (according to legend) was condemned to death by Dionysius the Elder and asked a respite to put his affairs in order; Damon pledged his life for the return of his friend; when Phintias returned in time the tyrant released them both (4th century BC))
Damon (the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC))
Damon and Pythias ((Greek mythology) according to a Greek legend: when Pythias was sentenced to be executed Damon took his place to allow Pythias to get his affairs in order; when Pythias returned in time to save Damon the king was so impressed that he let them both live)
Derivation:
friendly (characteristic of or befitting a friend)
friendship (the state of being friends (or friendly))
Sense 5
Meaning:
A person who backs a politician or a team etc.
Example:
they are friends of the library
Synonyms:
admirer; booster; champion; friend; protagonist; supporter
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("friend" is a kind of...):
advocate; advocator; exponent; proponent (a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "friend"):
Whig (a supporter of the American Revolution)
verifier; voucher (someone who vouches for another or for the correctness of a statement)
maintainer; sustainer; upholder (someone who upholds or maintains)
toaster; wassailer (someone who proposes a toast; someone who drinks to the health of success of someone or some venture)
sympathiser; sympathizer; well-wisher (someone who shares your feelings or opinions and hopes that you will be successful)
endorser; indorser; ratifier; subscriber (someone who expresses strong approval)
Shavian (an admirer of G. B. Shaw or his works)
seconder (someone who endorses a motion or petition as a necessary preliminary to a discussion or vote)
Roundhead (a supporter of parliament and Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War)
mainstay; pillar (a prominent supporter)
Graecophile; philhellene; philhellenist (an admirer of Greece and everything Greek)
New Dealer (a supporter of the economic policies in the United States known as the New Deal)
loyalist; stalwart (a person who is loyal to their allegiance (especially in times of revolt))
Jacobite (a supporter of James II after he was overthrown or a supporter of the Stuarts)
functionalist (an adherent of functionalism)
free trader (an advocate of unrestricted international trade)
Francophil; Francophile (an admirer of France and everything French)
enthusiast; partisan; partizan (an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of some person or activity)
corporatist (a supporter of corporatism)
Confederate (a supporter of the Confederate States of America)
cheerleader (an enthusiastic and vocal supporter)
Boswell (a devoted admirer and recorder of another's words and deeds)
believer; truster (a supporter who accepts something as true)
anglophil; anglophile (an admirer of England and things English)
Context examples:
Had Dick had his way, they would have been good friends; but White Fang was averse to friendship.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
From a distance, unseen by me, he had been a witness of his friend’s death and of my escape.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
If you would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend of yours I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with you.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It should be unnecessary to state, at least to my friends, that I was shocked.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
He made friends with him instantly, and you know that's something he never did with anybody before.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
“Why, sir, you’ve got me the very evidence I want,” said the inspector warmly, shaking my friend by the hand.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it; and it may be doubted if, from that day forth, Utterson desired the society of his surviving friend with the same eagerness.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
“Well,” says I, growing a bit bolder, “if I'm to choose, I declare I have a right to know what's what, and why you're here, and where my friends are.”
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
“Young friend,” said he, when Alleyne was abreast of him, “I fear from thy garb that thou canst know little of the Abbey of Beaulieu.”
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Oh, my poor friend, in what moment of madness did you come to do such a deed?
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
