friar
Americannoun
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Roman Catholic Church. a member of a religious order, especially the mendicant orders of Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians.
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Printing. a blank or light area on a printed page caused by uneven inking of the plate or type.
noun
Related Words
See monk.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of friar
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English frier, frere “brother,” from Old French frere, from Latin frāter; see brother
Explanation
A friar belongs to a religious order, a group within the Catholic church. A friar is similar to a monk. Friars are like monks in that they are devoted to a religious life. The difference is that a friar lives and works among regular people in society, while a monk lives in a secluded, self-sufficient group of monks. The word friar developed in the thirteenth century from the Old French frere, "brother or friar." The Latin root is frater, or "brother."
Vocabulary lists containing friar
Much Ado About Nothing
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"Culture Clash"
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Medieval Europe - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There was Friar herself at Square in 2012, where she became Jack Dorsey’s second-in-command, helping steer the payments startup through a turbulent public offering more than a decade ago.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Ready for a CEO role of her own, Friar found one in the social-networking app Nextdoor.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Friar, who often talked about cultivating kindness in community, picked the ticker symbol.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
The company said this past week that its business was “firing on all cylinders,” and that Friar remained optimistic about buying more computing power.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Father Abbot was tending the wounded in Great Hall, Friar Hugo was constantly sending Cornflower and her helpers back and forth to the ramparts with food and drink.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
