Word of the Day: Friend
noun
1. a person with whom one is intimately acquainted, often through shared interests and experiences
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
Helen Keller, 1880-1968
2. a person who is part of the same group, party, etc.
I have lots of theater friends and actors who depend on Back Stage.
Anurag Kashyap, 1972-
3. a patron of some artistic endeavor or other organization, i.e., “ of the library, etc.
Each third- grade student in Tolland Intermediate School recently received a dictionary from The Friends of the Tolland Public Library.
from an article in the Tolland Patch by Gaile Dembeck
4. one who is not a hostile or threat
It is better to decide a difference between enemies than friends, for one of our friends will certainly become an enemy and one of our enemies a friend.
Bias of Priene, 600 BC-530 BC
5. capitalized, a Quaker
My List of Values contain’d at first but twelve: But a Quaker Friend having kindly inform’d me that I was generally thought proud; that my Pride show’d itself frequently in Conversation; that I was not content with being in the right when discussing any Point, but was overbearing & rather insolent; of which he convinc’d me by mentioning several Instances; – I determined endeavouring to cure myself…, and I added Humility to my List, giving an extensive meaning to the Word.
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790
6. a contact on a social media website
I like to have met someone in real life before being their Facebook friend.
Nicholas A. Christakis, 1962-
verb
1. to add someone as a contact on a social media website
We only now talk to our own, on Facebook and social media we talk to people, we friend and we like and we follow people who agree with us and rather than engaging with people who disagree with us, we unfollow them, we block them, we non-platform them.
Armando Iannuci, 1963-
