Etymograph

English

friar

Friar comes from Old French frere ‘brother’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāter1‘brother’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400frere1‘brother’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frere1
  6. Englishtodayfriar1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English friar

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tērWiktionary, English friar‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātērWiktionary, English friar‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāterWiktionary, English friar‘brother’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400frereWiktionary, English friar‘brother’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frereWiktionary, English friar
  6. EnglishtodayfriarWiktionary, English friar

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’

brother, bro, pal, brethren, bhai, 11 more

through Latin frāter ‘brother’

fraternity, fraternal, fra, frater, 5 more

Today it means

noun A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “friar”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr / friar

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