English
friend
Friend comes from Middle English freend, from Old English frēond, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz, from PIE *preyH- ‘to please’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frijōndz‘friend’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*friundreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frēond
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500freend
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596friend
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frijōndz‘friend’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*friundreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frēond
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500freend
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596friend
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “Nor to the motion of a schoolboy's tongue ;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’
free, property, improper, fray, impropriety, propriety, frith, 6 more
Today it means
noun A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preyH- / friend