Contextualizebeta

befriend

verb
/bɪˈfɹɛnd/UK/bəˈfɹɛnd/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- Proto-Indo-European *preyH- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *priHós Proto-Germanic *frijōną Proto-Germanic *frijōndz Proto-West Germanic *friund Old English frēond Middle English frend English friend English befriend From be- (intensifying prefix) + friend (verb). cognates * Dutch bevrienden (“to befriend”) * German befreunden (“to befriend”) * German Low German befründen (“to befriend”) * Saterland Frisian befrüündje (“to befriend”) * West Frisian befreone (“befriended”)

  1. derived from *preyH-✻ — “to please; to love”
  2. inherited from *frijōndz✻ — “friend, loved one”
  3. inherited from *friund✻
  4. inherited from frēond
  5. inherited from freend
  6. formed as befriend — “be- + friend”

Definitions

  1. To become a friend of (someone), to make friends with (someone).

    • Good Seruilius, vvill you befriend mee ſo farre, as to vſe mine ovvne vvords to him?
    • […] I was suddenly sensible of such sweet and beneficent society in Nature, […] Every little pine needle expanded and swelled with sympathy and befriended me.

  2. To act as a friend to (someone, especially a client) by providing companionship and…

    To act as a friend to (someone, especially a client) by providing companionship and support; to assist, to help.

  3. To benefit or favour (someone or something)

    To benefit or favour (someone or something); also, to advocate or promote (someone or something).

    • Hence therefore, euery leader to his charge, / For on their anſvvere vvill vve ſet on them, / And God befriend vs as our cauſe is juſt.
    • Sooth[sayer]. […] [I]f it vvill pleaſe Cæſar / To be ſo good to Cæſar, as to heare me: / I ſhall beſeech him to befriend himſelfe. / Por[tia]. VVhy knovv'ſt thou any harme's intended tovvards him?
    • Thy vſurie, extorting, racking, incloſing, hath vvounded vvhole Villages, and novv thou befriendeſt tvvo or three vvith the plaiſters of thy bountie.

The neighborhood

Derived

befriendable, befriendee, befriender, befriending, befriendment, unbefriend, unbefriended, unbefriending

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for befriend. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA