Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

friar

/ˈfɹaɪɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.04 in modern English

Syllables
fri-ar
IPA
/ˈfɹaɪɚ/
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).

noun

A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.

Dated

noun

An American fish, the silverside.

noun

An American fish, the silverside.

name

A surname.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Italic *frātēr Latin frāter Old French frerebor. Middle English frere English friar Inherited from Middle English frere, borrowed from Old French frere, from Latin frāter, from Proto-Italic *frātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, pal, and vai.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈfɹaɪɚ/
  • British English: /ˈfɹaɪə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

friars (plural) frier (alternative, obsolete) fryar (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

friarbird friaress friarhood friarlike friarly friarship friary greyfriar grayfriar

Phrases

black friar curtal friar friar bird Friar Minor Friar Preacher friar's balsam friar's cap friar's cowl

Frequently Paired Words

father sister mother monk

Synonyms

brother frater mendicant

Homonyms

frier fryer

Rhymes With

fire higher entire prior require desire wire hire acquire buyer tire liar

Questions

How do you pronounce friar?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɹaɪɚ/.
What does friar mean?
A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).
Where does friar come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Italic *frātēr Latin frāter Old French frerebor. Middle English frere English friar Inherited from Middle English frere, borrowed from Old French frere, from Latin frāter, from Proto-Italic *frātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, pal, and vai.

How to pronounce friar

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “friar”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfɹaɪɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “friar”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “friar” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.