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fellow - 7 dictionary results

fel⋅low

  [fel-oh]
Use fellow in a Sentence
–noun
1. a man or boy: a fine old fellow; a nice little fellow.
2. Informal. beau; suitor: Mary had her fellow over to meet her folks.
3. Informal. person; one: They don't treat a fellow very well here.
4. a person of small worth or no esteem.
5. a companion; comrade; associate: They have been fellows since childhood.
6. a person belonging to the same rank or class; equal; peer: The doctor conferred with his fellows.
7. one of a pair; mate; match: a shoe without its fellow.
8. Education.
a. a graduate student of a university or college to whom an allowance is granted for special study.
b. British. an incorporated member of a college, entitled to certain privileges.
c. a member of the corporation or board of trustees of certain universities or colleges.
9. a member of any of certain learned societies: a fellow of the British Academy.
10. Obsolete. a partner.
–verb (used with object)
11. to make or represent as equal with another.
12. Archaic. to produce a fellow to; match.
–adjective
13. belonging to the same class or group; united by the same occupation, interests, etc.; being in the same condition: fellow students; fellow sufferers.
Origin:
bef. 1050; ME felowe, felawe, late OE fēolaga < ON fēlagi partner in a joint undertaking, equiv. to fē money, property (c. OE feoh, G Vieh) + -lagi bedfellow, comrade; akin to lair 1 , lie 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fellow
fel·low   (fěl'ō)   
n.  
    1. A man or boy.
    2. Informal A boyfriend.
    3. A person of equal rank, position, or background; a peer.
    4. One of a pair; a mate: found the lost shoe and its fellow.
    5. An incorporated senior member of certain colleges and universities.
    6. A member of the governing body of certain colleges and universities.
  2. A comrade or associate.
    1. A person of equal rank, position, or background; a peer.
    2. One of a pair; a mate: found the lost shoe and its fellow.
    3. An incorporated senior member of certain colleges and universities.
    4. A member of the governing body of certain colleges and universities.
  4. A member of a learned society.
  5. A graduate student appointed to a position granting financial aid and providing for further study.
  6. Chiefly British
    1. An incorporated senior member of certain colleges and universities.
    2. A member of the governing body of certain colleges and universities.
  7. Obsolete A person of a lower social class.
adj.  Being of the same kind, group, occupation, society, or locality; having in common certain characteristics or interests: fellow workers.

[Middle English felau, from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse fēlagi, business partner, fellow, from fēlag, partnership : fē, property, money; see peku- in Indo-European roots + lag, a laying down; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: A jolly good fellow might or might not be the ideal business associate, but the ancestor of our word fellow definitely referred to a business partner. Fellow was borrowed into English from Old Norse fēlagi, meaning "a partner or shareholder of any kind." Old Norse fēlagi is derived from fēlag, "partnership," a compound made up of fē, "livestock, property, money," and lag, "a laying in order" and "fellowship." The notion of putting one's property together lies behind the senses of fēlagi meaning "partner" and "consort." In Old Icelandic fēlagi also had the general sense "fellow, mate, comrade," which fellow has as well, indicating perhaps that most partnerships turned out all right for speakers of Old Icelandic.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Fellow

Fel"low\, n. [OE. felawe, felaghe, Icel. f[=e]lagi, fr. f[=e]lag companionship, prop., a laying together of property; f[=e] property + lag a laying, pl. l["o]g law, akin to liggja to lie. See Fee, and Law, Lie to be low.]

1. A companion; a comrade; an associate; a partner; a sharer.

The fellows of his crime. --Milton.

We are fellows still, Serving alike in sorrow. --Shak.

That enormous engine was flanked by two fellows almost of equal magnitude. --Gibbon.

Note: Commonly used of men, but sometimes of women. --Judges xi. 37.

2. A man without good breeding or worth; an ignoble or mean man.

Worth makes the man, and want of it, the fellow. --Pope.

3. An equal in power, rank, character, etc.

It is impossible that ever Rome Should breed thy fellow. --Shak.

4. One of a pair, or of two things used together or suited to each other; a mate; the male.

When they be but heifers of one year, . . . they are let go to the fellow and breed. --Holland.

This was my glove; here is the fellow of it. --Shak.

5. A person; an individual.

She seemed to be a good sort of fellow. --Dickens.

6. In the English universities, a scholar who is appointed to a foundation called a fellowship, which gives a title to certain perquisites and privileges.

7. In an American college or university, a member of the corporation which manages its business interests; also, a graduate appointed to a fellowship, who receives the income of the foundation.

8. A member of a literary or scientific society; as, a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Note: Fellow is often used in compound words, or adjectively, signifying associate, companion, or sometimes equal. Usually, such compounds or phrases are self-explanatory; as, fellow-citizen, or fellow citizen; fellow-student, or fellow student; fellow-workman, or fellow workman; fellow-mortal, or fellow mortal; fellow-sufferer; bedfellow; playfellow; workfellow.

Were the great duke himself here, and would lift up My head to fellow pomp amongst his nobles. --Ford.

Fellow

Fel"low\, v. t. To suit with; to pair with; to match. [Obs.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : fellow
Spanish: tipo,
German: der Kerl,
Japanese: やつ
More Translations »

fellow 
O.E. feolaga "partner," from O.N. felagi, from fe "money" + verbal base denoting "lay." Sense is of "one who puts down money with another in a joint venture." Used familiarly since M.E. for "man, male person," but not etymologically masculine. University senses (c.1449, corresponding to L. socius) evolved from notion of "one of the corporation who constitute a college" and who are paid from its revenues. Fellowship (c.1200) in M.E. was a euphemism for "sexual intercourse." Fellow-feeling (1613) attempted to translate L. compassio and Gk. sympatheia. First record of fellow-traveler in sense of "one who sympathizes with the Communist movement but is not a party member," is from 1936, translating Rus. poputchik.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: fel·low
Pronunciation: 'fel-(")O, -&(-w)
Function: noun
: a young physician who has completed training as an intern and resident andhas been granted a stipend and position allowing him or her to do further study or research in a specialty
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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fellow

see regular guy (fellow); strange bedfellows.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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