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
- friarly adjective
Etymology
Origin of friar
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English frier, frere “brother,” from Old French frere, from Latin frāter; 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.
Cesareo, a Franciscan friar, said the "damaged" and "consumed" state of the bones showed that St Francis "gave himself completely" to his life's work.
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
One of the earliest collections of Augustinian biographies she studied was written by a Florentine friar in the 1320s.
From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026
The friar, writes Mr. Restall, portrayed Columbus as “a flawed but heroic agent of God.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
A friar who knew of his struggle encouraged him to start dating a woman, but it didn’t feel natural.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2024
William leaned down to bring his head beside Jeanne’s and Jacob’s and pointed around the brown sleeve of a friar.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
