Etymology of word "friend" in many languages

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paulhersh

New Member
USA, English
Hello Team! I'm working on a project for my university's president, studying the etymologies of the word "friend" in different languages. Below is what I've come up with so far [Post #1], could you please fill in any that you might know that I don't have yet [Post #2]? Also, if you know of any other languages version of "friend" and associated etymologies could you please let me know? If you see anything below that's wrong or have anything to add, please let me know. Please make all comments in original language and transliterated English please. Thank you!

Friend (English) - Old English - freond, "to love, to favor," from Pre-Germanic. *frijojanan "to love". Related to Old English freo "free."
Freundin (German) – Old English: freond, to love - In turn, "freond" comes from "fri", which is Germanic for "to like, to love", and which is also connected with the Norse goddess Frigg, the goddess of love.
Vriend (Dutch & Afrikaans) – Old English: freond, to love - In turn, "freond" comes from "fri", which is Germanic for "to like, to love", and which is also connected with the Norse goddess Frigg, the goddess of love.

Sahib (صاحب) (Arabic) - respectful address to Europeans in India, 1673, from Hindi or Urdu sahib "master, lord," from Arabic, originally "friend, companion," from sahiba "he accompanied." OR - the word for "friend" comes from the root "truth," because "Who is your friend? The one who tells you the truth."

Amicus (Latin) – amare: to love
Amico (Italian) – amare: to love
Ami (French) - aimer: to love
Amigo (Spanish) - amor: to love
Mik (Albanian) - amicus from Latin

Bondhu (Bengali) – Indic bandh – to tie
Bandu (Sinhalese) – Indic bandh – to tie

Dost (Urdu) – From Persian dost – Friend / Lover

Ven (Danish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)
Venn (Finnish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)

Philos (φίλος) (Greek) – phileo: to love

Péngyǒu (朋友) (Mandarin) - In Shang-Yin (XVI – XI BC) oracle bone inscriptions the character "you" (later – "friend") designated one of types of sacred communication between men and divine ancestors. It implied provision of offerings from the part of descendants and a grant of support from the ancestors’ part in exchange. The character "peng" (later – a part of word combination "pengyou" – "friend") was used as the measure word for "bunches of cowries" being an important component of ritual gift exchange in Early China. The character "bin" (later – "guest") in Shang-Yin time designated special sacred ceremony of entertainment of royal ancestors. In Western Zhou (XI - VIII BC) period it used to designate a type of exchange between men of the same social status, and, on the other hand, a type of tribute delivered by dependent tribes or political units. It also comprised the graph "cowry". Thus this symbol of ritual exchange link the concepts of "friendship" and "hospitality" to each other, making us suppose that gifts used to play an important role in such kind of relationship.

Tomodachi (Japanese) - Tomodachi is the Japanse word for friend. Tomodachi is written with two kanji: 友 (tomo, friend) and 達(-tachi, attain). The first kanji comes from the Chinese you and represents two hands (又 right and 左 left) working together. The second kanji comes from the Chinese da and isn't relevant to the etymology (it's phonetic, "a word about moving that sounds like da" = attain). The Japanse word itself then stems from the idea that working together to accomplish a task creates friends. For the Japanese this will generally be true, as the members of your ka sei (課制, company work group) are often the people you socialize with the most. A familiar abbreviation of the term, just tomo, translates closer to "buddy" or "pal" (私の友).

Kaibigan (Tagalog) - the root word "ibig", meaning "to love." Putting "ka" before a rootword signifies a state of being, such as "kasama" (ka + sama "to go with"), literally "being someone to go with" or "companion". Putting "an" or "han" after a word makes the focus of the sentence the direction of the action, such as "simba" (to worship) + "han" becomes "simbahan", a church, literally, "a place to worship". Thus, "kaibigan" could literally mean, "the state of being someone to share love with"!

Caraid (Gaelic) - Irish, Old Irish cara, g. carat, *karant-; Old Irish verb carim, caraim, I love, Welsh caraf, amo, Breton quaret, amare, Gaulish carantus, Caractacus, etc.; Latin cârus, dear, English charity, etc.; Gothic hôrs, meretrix

Rafiki (Swahili) - From Arabic رفيق (rafí:q, 'companion,' 'buddy,' 'comrade,' 'partner') < رفق (ráfaqa, 'to be kind,' 'to be friendly, 'to be courteous').

Drug (друг) (Russian) - Originally, друг was the predicative (short) form of другой ("another"). It is related to второй ("second") < OCS въторъ ("other", "second") < PIE *wi-tero- ("more apart") < PIE base *wi- ("separation") + comparative suffix *-tero- ("-er").
Draugs (Latvian) – From Russian Drug (and related history)

Barát (Hungarian) - From Proto-Slavic *bratrъ, *bratъ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. (Brat = brother)
 
    • [Continued from post #1]
    Paulhersh asked could you please fill in any that you might know that I don't have yet"

    Chingu (親舊) (Korean)

    Chaver (חבר) (Hebrew)
    Me Tra (Vietnamese?)
    Teman (Indonesian)
    Jakkr (?)
    Arkadasim (Turkish)
    Anker (Armenian)
    Přítel (Czech)
    Kamrat (Swedish)
    Znajomy (Polish)
    Ystävä (Finnish)
    Prijatelj (Croatian)

    Paulhersch also asked:
    Also, if you know of any other languages version of "friend" and associated etymologies could you please let me know?


    Please only post other words for friend with a plausible etymology.

    Frank
    Moderator EHL
     
    Indonesian has at least four words for "friend":
    teman
    kawan
    sahabat
    sobat

    I don't know about the etymology of teman and kawan, but I think sahabat is a loanword from Sanskrit or Arabic, and that sobat is simply a shortened version of it.

    Sahabat and sobat imply a closer friendship than teman or kawan.

    Salam,


    MarX
     
    paulhersh said:
    Sahib (صاحب) (Arabic) - respectful address to Europeans in India, 1673, from Hindi or Urdu sahib "master, lord," from Arabic, originally "friend, companion," from sahiba "he accompanied." OR - the word for "friend" comes from the root "truth," because "Who is your friend? The one who tells you the truth."
    Click to expand...

    Sahib is used sometimes to describe a friend, however, it actually is a companion, from as you said the verb sahiba = to accompany. The word sahib can be used to describe a companion (on a journy), a friend and a spouse (since they accompany eachother in the journy of life).

    Freind in Arabic is actually Sadeeq صديق, from Sadaqa صدق, to tell the truth. He is called so because a freind does two things: he tells you the truth and he believes what you say. i.e., between two friends is only truth (no lies).
     
    Does 'sadaqa' have any relation to the Hebrew 'tzedakah' (commonly translated as 'charity' but based on the root for 'justice' (tzedek))? Thank you!
     
    "Freundin" (German) is feminin; "Freund" is masculin.
    In Spanish, "amigo" (masc.) and "amiga" (fem.)
    And the same in Franch: "ami" (masc.) and "amie" (fem.)
    I suppose there must be more languages that change the noun's form dependig on the geder.
     
    Mahaodeh said:
    Sahib is used sometimes to describe a friend, however, it actually is a companion, from as you said the verb sahiba = to accompany. The word sahib can be used to describe a companion (on a journy), a friend and a spouse (since they accompany eachother in the journy of life).

    Freind in Arabic is actually Sadeeq صديق, from Sadaqa صدق, to tell the truth. He is called so because a freind does two things: he tells you the truth and he believes what you say. i.e., between two friends is only truth (no lies).
    Click to expand...

    That reminds me of another word for close friend in Indonesian: sohib.
    I guess it's related to sahabat and sobat.

    So Indonesian has at least five words for "friend":

    teman
    kawan
    sahabat
    sobat
    sohib
     
    Slavic:

    přítel (Czech)
    priateľ (Slovak)
    przyjaciel (Polish)
    prijatelj (Croatian)
    приятель (Russian)

    are derived from the Proto-Slavic verb prьja-ti (by the suffix -telь)

    derived from IE base *prei- to be fond of, hold dear (> friend), Sans. priyá- dear, desired

    The Slavic words are related to the Germanic friend, Freund, etc.
     
    Hi,
    just something I noticed about the etymology of the Celtic words
    you ahve written "Caraid (Gaelic) - Irish, Old Irish cara, g. carat, *karant-; Old Irish verb carim, caraim, I love, Welsh caraf, amo, Breton quaret, amare,"
    I know there is a significant link between Latin and Irish, and the Celtic words remind me of the latin verb quarare....is(or could there be) there a link?
    Sorcha
     
    paulhersh said:
    Tomodachi (Japanese) - Tomodachi is the Japanse word for friend. Tomodachi is written with two kanji: 友 (tomo, friend) and 達(-tachi, attain). The first kanji comes from the Chinese you and represents two hands (又 right and 左 left) working together. Kanji etymology is irrelevant to the etymology of tomodachi and the kanji etymology of working together is not without disagreement. The second kanji comes from the Chinese da and isn't relevant to the etymology (it's phonetic, "a word about moving that sounds like da" = attain). The Japanse word itself then stems from the idea that working together to accomplish a task creates friends (Statement A). For the Japanese this will generally be true, as the members of your ka sei (課制, company work group) are often the people you socialize with the most (Statement B). A familiar abbreviation of the term, just tomo, translates closer to "buddy" or "pal" (私の友). Tomo is not a "familiar abbreviation" but the etymologically authentic word meaning a friend. In Modern Japanese, tomodachi prevails over tomo in use. 私の友 sounds rather archaic— it never translates into "a buddy of mine."
    Click to expand...

    The veracity of Statement A is questionable whereas that of Statement B is at best limited to the industrialised sectors of modern Japan. Neither of the two, or the two combined, makes a good argument for this etymological enquiry.

    The usages of tomo in older Japanese include; companion, friend, peer and attendant. The idea is doing something together (E.g., An attendant accompanies where his master goes) or having something in common (E.g., Peers belong to the same referent group; a likely group in the ancient society is one's tribe). The togetherness or sameness does not necessarily mean sharing the same project.

    Tomodachi can be analysed as tomo with the suffix tachi (Originally "a group of ~", it is a productive suffix for making plurals). The first consonant of the second element undergoes voicing upon compounding. It may be that tomodachi once meant "a group of friends/peers" but today it is used indiscriminately for any number of friends (including one friend). There is no form to supply a plural. The distinction of numbers —as it never seem to have been the case— matters very little in Modern Japanese.
     
    Hi,
    Friend in Avesta is frya : dear, beloved, affectionate; a friend, a well-wisher.
    Frya may be cognate to friend, related to O.E. freo "free.".


    Thanks,
    Mahdi.
     
    The word חבר in Hebrew comes from the root ח.ב.ר which means "to connect".

    Another word in Hebrew that means "friend" is ידיד (yadid), whose root - I think - means love, and is also the root of the word דוד (dod), "uncle". I'm not that sure about this one though, so maybe you should wait for confirmation.

    paulhersh said:
    Does 'sadaqa' have any relation to the Hebrew 'tzedakah' (commonly translated as 'charity' but based on the root for 'justice' (tzedek))? Thank you!
    Click to expand...

    You pretty much answered your qustion. צדקה comes from the root צ.ד.ק which means "justice".
     
    בעל-חלומות said:
    Another word in Hebrew that means "friend" is ידיד (yadid), whose root - I think - means love, and is also the root of the word דוד (dod), "uncle". I'm not that sure about this one though, so maybe you should wait for confirmation.
    Click to expand...
    Yadid in Hebrew may be cognate to عزیز (aziz) in Arabic means dear and darling.
     
    Hello: you've got, as well,
    Galician: amigo/a, amar.
    Català: amic.

    Perhaps it's interesting for you the relationship between Latin am-(>amicus, amare) and the Greek ἄμα, adverb meaning next to (Latin and Greek are Indo-European languages, as you know). Saludos, amigo ;).
     
    paulhersh said:
    Drug (друг) (Russian) - Originally, друг was the predicative (short) form of другой ("another"). It is related to второй ("second") < OCS въторъ ("other", "second") < PIE *wi-tero- ("more apart") < PIE base *wi- ("separation") + comparative suffix *-tero- ("-er").
    Click to expand...

    Actually, the word most probably originates from an ancient Slavic verb, that means to be in company, or to socialize, which is still preserved in Slovenian, as družiti se, and the word drug for friend, is also still preserved in Slovenian, as an archaism. This word was even used in the Slovenian translation of Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, as the more common word, prijatelj, is too long to fit in that song's chorus. In Slovenian, also related are the words družaben (meaning sociable), and družba, meaning both company (in both senses of the English word), and society.
    Also, there's the word drugi in Slovenian as well, that means both another, and the second (as in, ordinal number). ;)
     
    paulhersh said:
    Arkadasim arkadaşım (Turkish)
    Click to expand...
    arkadaşım meaning “my friend”, let’s concentrate on the main word:

    arkadaş is made up by arka, “behind; supporter” + the suffix –daş, “fellow with regard to..., companion concerning”, cf meslektaş, “colleague”, literally: “companion of profession” – and many other words.
    :) :)​
     
    From http://www.kimkat.org

    Etymology of the Welsh-language word cyfaill (= friend)
    -----------------------------------------------------
    < cyfaillt
    (cyf- prefix) + (aillt) < British *kom-alt-jos (= joined together; joined in friendship)
    The element alt is to be seen
    (1) in obsolete Welsh cyfalle (= union, joining together; spouse) < cyfalledd < British *kom-alt-ijâ
    (2) in Cornish kevals (= joint, articulation) (British kom-alt),
    (3) and in the Irish words alt (= joint, articulation); comhalta (= foster brother, foster sister; member);
    and comhaltas (= association)
    Note: cyfeilles (= female friend) (cyfaill + -es, suffix denoting a female);
    y gyfeilles = the (female) friend

    Wynn
     
    cajzl said:
    Slavic:

    přítel (Czech)
    priateľ (Slovak)
    przyjaciel (Polish)
    prijatelj (Croatian)
    приятель (Russian)

    are derived from the Proto-Slavic verb prьja-ti (by the suffix -telь)

    derived from IE base *prei- to be fond of, hold dear (> friend), Sans. priyá- dear, desired

    The Slavic words are related to the Germanic friend, Freund, etc.
    Click to expand...

    Also,
    prieten     (Romanian).

    Romanian has the word amic too, with a very similar meaning.
     
    Spectre scolaire said:
    I have looked up prieten and amic in my Romanian dictionary, but can’t figure out any semantic difference between them. :confused:

    There must be one, though - even if it is only historical or dialectal. ;)

    :) :)​
    Click to expand...

    There is no semantic difference; amic is interchangeable. The difference is that one is derived from Slavic and the other from Latin. Some people think that the latter isn't as strong as the former, because they consider it to be a neologism (even if this can be discussed!).

    :) robbie
     
    paulhersh said:
    Venn (Finnish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)
    Click to expand...

    Did you mean to write "Norwegian" rather than "Finnish" here?

    On which topic, I wonder if anyone knows the etymology of Finnish kaveri, a more informal word for "friend"?
     
    robbie_SWE said:
    There is no semantic difference; amic is interchangeable. The difference is that one is derived from Slavic and the other from Latin. Some people think that the latter isn't as strong as the former, because they consider it to be a neologism (even if this can be discussed!).

    :) robbie
    Click to expand...

    There is a semantic difference, maybe not an official one, but there is indeed a slight difference in modern spoken Romanian. The tend is to use prieten / prietenă for boyfriend / girlfriend, while amic / amică is just a friend.
     
    Post No. 2 said:
    Ven (Danish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)
    Venn (Finnish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)
    Click to expand...

    As has been pointed out, Finnish should be Norwegian.

    Judging from my Swedish sources on the Swedish friend vän (short vowel despite the single 'n'), the above "ven (beautiful)" (corresponding to Swedish vän (long vowel as predicted by the spelling)) has different Germanic origins. For the topical vän, it and its venus relation might have a shared origin with Sanskrit vanas 'lust'.
     
    In a couple of threads the Danish/Norwegian

    "Ven"

    is mentioned.

    WE can get closer than that, though.

    "Frænde" is an old Danish word for friend.

    Not used any more, but should be understood when read. The Danish title of one of the famous books by J.F. Cooper: Frændeløs. Not sure about the original title but retranslated it means "friend-less".

    I am not sure it covers the full meaning of "friend" (or of "ven") - my notion of it is more like "friend" as opposed to "enemy".
     
    Sepia said:
    The Danish title of one of the famous books by J.F. Cooper: Frændeløs. Not sure about the original title but retranslated it means "friend-less".
    Click to expand...
    Just for the record:     Frændeløs is a book written by Hector Malot (1830-1907) – original title: Sans famille. When it was written, James Fenimore Cooper had been dead for about 25 years. ;)
    :) :)​
     
    Western Armenian: wnkve (@nger), baevkam (paregam)

    I still don't know enough about Armenian to understand how these terms differ.
     
    Hi,

    Mongolian:
    friend: журмын нєхєр, анд, нєхєр, найз, хамтран зїтгэгч

    Sumerian:
    dusa [FRIEND] (8x: Ur III, Old Babylonian) "friend, companion"

    Akkadian. ru'u

    and also:

    guli [FRIEND] (91x: ED IIIb, Lagash II, Ur III, Old Babylonian) wr. gu5-li; gu-li; gu7-li "friend, comrade" Akk. ibru

    kulili [COLLEAGUE] (1x: Old Babylonian) wr. ku-li-li "colleague" Akk. itbaru

    niĝirsi [FRIEND] (22x: ED IIIb, Ur III, Old Babylonian) wr. niĝir-si; li-bi-ir-si "(bridegroom's) friend"

    celtic:

    here
     
    בעל-חלומות said:
    paulhersh said:
    Mahaodeh said:
    Sahib is used sometimes to describe a friend, however, it actually is a companion, from as you said the verb sahiba = to accompany. The word sahib can be used to describe a companion (on a journy), a friend and a spouse (since they accompany eachother in the journy of life).

    Freind in Arabic is actually Sadeeq صديق, from Sadaqa صدق, to tell the truth. He is called so because a freind does two things: he tells you the truth and he believes what you say. i.e., between two friends is only truth (no lies).
    Click to expand...
    Does 'sadaqa' have any relation to the Hebrew 'tzedakah' (commonly translated as 'charity' but based on the root for 'justice' (tzedek))? Thank you!
    Click to expand...
    You pretty much answered your qustion. צדקה comes from the root צ.ד.ק which means "justice".
    Click to expand...
    Yes, both צ-ד-ק (ts-d-k) and ص-د-ق (S-d-q) are cognate roots with meanings related to telling the truth, being righteous, being just, etc.

    mkh said:
    בעל-חלומות said:
    The word חבר in Hebrew comes from the root ח.ב.ר which means "to connect".

    Another word in Hebrew that means "friend" is ידיד (yadid), whose root - I think - means love, and is also the root of the word דוד (dod), "uncle". I'm not that sure about this one though, so maybe you should wait for confirmation.
    Click to expand...
    Yadid in Hebrew may be cognate to عزیز (aziz) in Arabic means dear and darling.
    Click to expand...
    Actually, the Hebraic root י-ד-ד (y-d-d) is the cognate of Arabic و-د-د (w-d-d)* which means 'to like or love'. In fact Arabic has a word, وديد (wadiid), meaning 'devoted' or 'friendly', which is the same shape as the Hebrew ידיד (yadiid).

    The Arabic root ع-ز-ز (l3-z-z), from whence comes عزیز (l3aziiz), is the cognate of the Hebrew ע-ז-ז (l3-z-z). Both have meanings of being strong.

    ----------------
    *As the first radical of a root the Hebrew י (y) can correspond to the Arabic ي (y) or و (w).
     
    Just an idea or a suggestion, Paul: this is quite interesting, but you would not feel like summarizing the main 'roots' of the translations of 'friend' ?

    As a newcomer, one would have a quick survey of the main answers in that way. But of course, it takes some time.

    Just an idea...

    Thanks,
    janG
     
    In Arabic, there three common words for friend:
    1. صديق Sadeeq which comes form صدق Sadaqa to say the truth or to be truthful
    the Plural is أصدقاء Asdiqaa and the noun is صداقة Sadaaqah Friendship
    2. صاحب Sahib which comes from صحب Sahiba to accompany and the plural for صاحب is أصحاب As'haab and Friendship is صحبة Suh'bah.
    3. رفيق Rafeeq which comes from رفق Rifq which is Kindness and friends will be رفاق Rifaq and Friendship is رفقة Rufqah.
     
    Actually word "friend" in Finnish is "Ystava". The correct spelling has umlauts on the letters a on ystava.

    Venn is probably Swedish. Finnish is not at all related to Swedish or Norwegian. Finnish is a Fenno-Ugrian language that belongs to Ural-Altaic branch.

    Other words that are similar to ystava: kaveri (=buddy, comrade, tyokaveri= workmate), tuttava (=aquitance, someone you know but are not really friends with yet)

    Compare to other similar words in Finnish:

    Yksin=alone
    Yksi=one

    Ystava=friend

    When you have a friend, you are no longer alone.

    Who knows what the etymology of the word ystava in Finnish are... what is ystava / friend in other Fenno-Ugric languages, such as Estonian, Magyar (Hungarian), Karelian, Saami...

    paulhersh said:
    Venn (Finnish) - From Old Norse vinr, related to Latin venus (beauty), also Nynorsk (One of the two major Norwegian languages, literally meaning "new Norwegian") ven (beautiful)
    Click to expand...
     
    norwegian: venn

    In your list you are referring to nynorsk, but I must tell you to be careful here, as nynorsk/bokmål are written languages, and the Norwegian vocabulary is not really devided in two when it comes to spoken language. Though in writing some words are only nynorsk and some only bokmål, in spoken language/dialects, there is no such division. So "ven" (meaning beautiful) is Norwegian, and not really just nynorsk:)
     
    Aydintashar said:
    Azeri: Yoldaş - consisting of yol (way) and daş (same, together, common), which together means literary: those with a common way.
    Click to expand...
    Well,I would say "dost" is the exact word for "friend". You can be "yoldash" without being "dost". "Dost" implies close sincere friendship. "Yoldash" is rather "pal" or "buddy" in English, "prijatel' " or "tovarisch" in Russian, "camarade" in French.
    As for the etymology, I feel the word comes from Persian, although I may be wrong.

    "Yoldash" is also used referring to one's wife (comes from "həyat yoldashı" - lit."friend of life"). In Soviet times, "yoldash" was also used for "comrade".
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    OBrasilo said:
    Actually, the word most probably originates from an ancient Slavic verb, that means to be in company, or to socialize, which is still preserved in Slovenian, as družiti se, and the word drug for friend, is also still preserved in Slovenian, as an archaism. This word was even used in the Slovenian translation of Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, as the more common word, prijatelj, is too long to fit in that song's chorus. In Slovenian, also related are the words družaben (meaning sociable), and družba, meaning both company (in both senses of the English word), and society.
    Also, there's the word drugi in Slovenian as well, that means both another, and the second (as in, ordinal number). ;)
    [/size]
    Click to expand...

    Actually, pretty much everything you mentioned is also true for Serbocroatian.
     
    OBrasilo said:
    Actually, the word most probably originates from an ancient Slavic verb, that means to be in company, or to socialize, which is still preserved in Slovenian, as družiti se, and the word drug for friend, is also still preserved in Slovenian, as an archaism. This word was even used in the Slovenian translation of Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, as the more common word, prijatelj, is too long to fit in that song's chorus. In Slovenian, also related are the words družaben (meaning sociable), and družba, meaning both company (in both senses of the English word), and society.
    Also, there's the word drugi in Slovenian as well, that means both another, and the second (as in, ordinal number). ;)
    [/size]
    Click to expand...
    Isn't there a Polish cognate of drug meaning friend?
    I'm pretty sure I read it in a film's subtitles. I know in Polish drugi means others, but I'm pretty sure in the scene the word was used to mean friend.
     
    elpoderoso said:
    Isn't there a Polish cognate of drug meaning friend?
    I'm pretty sure I read it in a film's subtitles. I know in Polish drugi means others, but I'm pretty sure in the scene the word was used to mean friend.
    Click to expand...
    My Polish dictionary don't thinks so, but there may be a colloquial word like that which isn't in the dictionary.
    Anyway, Polish has druh = comrade; pathfinder (says the very same dictionary) which should/could be a cognate of Slovenian drug (that is, the ancient one which isn't used much more as described by OBrasilo).
     
    I think that you are right Sokol, now that you mention it, it must have been ''druh'''that I read. Isn't it usually Czech that has ''h'' instead of ''g'' though?
     
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    elpoderoso said:
    I think that you are right Sokol, now that you mention it, it must have been ''druh'''that I read. Isn't it usually Czech that has ''h'' indtead of ''g'' though?
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    Usually it is, yes; and usually in Polish "g" stays "g" (I also just checked with a few "g" words, they all had "g" - in initial position, in Polish).

    I took a guess here with Polish "druh" - it may be that it is not a cognate of "drug"; I only think that this is likely.
     
    sokol said:
    Usually it is, yes; and usually in Polish "g" stays "g" (I also just checked with a few "g" words, they all had "g" - in initial position, in Polish).

    I took a guess here with Polish "druh" - it may be that it is not a cognate of "drug"; I only think that this is likely.
    Click to expand...

    According to Vasmer, Russian drug and the similar words in other major Slavic languages are all cognates. However, curiously, Vasmer cites Old Polish drug with /g/ at the end, not the modern Polish druh. As far as I know, there hasn't been any regular mutation of final /g/ in Polish. Could it be that this word vanished at some point and was then borrowed from Ukrainian, Czech, or some other neighboring language in which /g/ changed into a rear fricative?
     
    Athaulf said:
    (...) However, curiously, Vasmer cites Old Polish drug with /g/ at the end, not the modern Polish druh. (...) Could it be that this word vanished at some point and was then borrowed from Ukrainian, Czech, or some other neighboring language in which /g/ changed into a rear fricative?
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    A loan from Ukrainian would be likely because there were close relations between both nations, and unlikely because Polish, then, was the language of the political leaders (that is, before it became divided in the 18th century; and of course later when Poland was under Russian rule it was the other way round, they didn't like their new rulers).

    I can't really see borrowing from Czech, but who knows; I am still only guessing.
     
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