# friar

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfɹaɪə/ · frequency rank #27,468

## Definitions
1. A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).
2. A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.
3. An American fish, the silverside.
4. An American fish, the silverside.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
From Middle English frere, from Old French frere, from Latin frāter (“brother”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, pal, and vai.

## Easily confused with
- **fried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-fried)
- **fries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-fries)
- **Fritz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-fritz)
- **fryer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-fryer)
- **frick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-frick)
- **Frida** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-frida)
- **frisk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-frisk)
- **frith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-frith)
- **Friday** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friar-vs-friday)
- **far** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/far-vs-friar)
- **fir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fir-vs-friar)
- **fra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fra-vs-friar)
- **fair** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fair-vs-friar)
- **fear** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fear-vs-friar)
- **fiat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiat-vs-friar)
- **Fran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fran-vs-friar)
- **fray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fray-vs-friar)
- **frat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/frat-vs-friar)
- **Frau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/frau-vs-friar)
- **FOIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/foia-vs-friar)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ffriar`, `firar`, `frair`, `friarr`, `frira`, `frriar`, `rfiar`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/friar