# friend

> English word · Noun · IPA /fɹɛnd/ · frequency rank #420

## Definitions
1. A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
2. An associate who provides assistance; patron, mentor.
3. A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
4. A person who backs or supports something.
5. An object or idea that can be used for good.
6. Used as a form of address when warning someone.
7. A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
8. A spring-loaded camming device.
9. A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
10. A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
11. Used to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew

## Etymology
From Middle English frend, freend, from Old English frēond (“friend”, literally “loving [one], lover”), from Proto-West Germanic *friund, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“lover, friend”), from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to love”), roughly equivalent to free + -nd. See also Friday.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots freend (“friend”), Yola friend, vriene (“friend”), North Frisian frinj, frün (“friend”), Saterland Frisian Fjund, Früünd (“friend”), West Frisian freon, freondinne (“friend”), Cimbrian bròint, vròint (“friend”), Dutch vriend (“friend”), German Freund (“friend”), German Low German Fründ (“friend, relative”), Luxembourgish Frënd (“friend”), Vilamovian fraeind, frajnd (“friend”), Yiddish פֿרײַנד (fraynd, “friend”), Danish frænde (“kinsman”), Faroese, Icelandic frændi (“kinsman”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk frende (“relative”), Swedish frände (“kinsman, relative”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”). More at free.
Akin to Russian прия́тель (prijátelʹ, “friend”), Romanian prieten, and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).

## Easily confused with
- **fries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friend-vs-fries)
- **frigid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friend-vs-frigid)
- **frieze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friend-vs-frieze)
- **friends** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friend-vs-friends)
- **friendly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/friend-vs-friendly)
- **find** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/find-vs-friend)
- **Fred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fred-vs-friend)
- **fend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fend-vs-friend)
- **field** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/field-vs-friend)
- **fried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fried-vs-friend)
- **freed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freed-vs-friend)
- **Freud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freud-vs-friend)
- **fiend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiend-vs-friend)
- **Frieda** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/frieda-vs-friend)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ffriend`, `firend`, `freind`, `friedn`, `friendd`, `friennd`, `frined`, `frriend`, `rfiend`

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