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friar - 5 dictionary results
fri⋅ar
[frahy-er] 
ər
–noun
| 1. | Roman Catholic Church. a member of a religious order, esp. the mendicant orders of Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians. |
| 2. | Printing. a blank or light area on a printed page caused by uneven inking of the plate or type. Compare monk (def. 3). |
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To friar
| fri·ar (frī'ər) n. Abbr. Fr. A member of a usually mendicant Roman Catholic order. [Middle English frere, from Old French, from Latin frāter, brother; see bhrāter- in Indo-European roots.] fri'ar·ly adj. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Friar
Fri"ar\, n. [OR. frere, F. fr[`e]re brother, friar, fr. L. frater brother. See Brother.]1. (R. C. Ch.) A brother or member of any religious order, but especially of one of the four mendicant orders, viz: (a) Minors, Gray Friars, or Franciscans. (b) Augustines. (c) Dominicans or Black Friars. (d) White Friars or Carmelites. See these names in the Vocabulary. 2. (Print.) A white or pale patch on a printed page. 3. (Zo["o]l.) An American fish; the silversides. Friar bird (Zo["o]l.), an Australian bird (Tropidorhynchus corniculatus), having the head destitute of feathers; -- called also coldong, leatherhead, pimlico; poor soldier, and four-o'clock. The name is also applied to several other species of the same genus. Friar's balsam (Med.), a stimulating application for wounds and ulcers, being an alcoholic solution of benzoin, styrax, tolu balsam, and aloes; compound tincture of benzoin. --Brande & C. Friar's cap (Bot.), the monkshood. Friar's cowl (Bot.), an arumlike plant (Arisarum vulgare) with a spathe or involucral leaf resembling a cowl. Friar's lantern, the ignis fatuus or Will-o'-the-wisp. --Milton. Friar skate (Zo["o]l.), the European white or sharpnosed skate (Raia alba); -- called also Burton skate, border ray, scad, and doctor.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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friar
c.1290, from O.Fr. frere "brother, friar," originally the mendicant orders (Franciscans, Augustines, Dominicans, Carmelites), who reached England early 13c., from L. frater "brother."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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friar
(from Latin frater through French frere, "brother"), one belonging to a Roman Catholic religious order of mendicants. Formerly, friar was the title given to individual members of these orders, as Friar Laurence (in Romeo and Juliet), but this is no longer common. The 10 mendicant orders are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians (Augustian Hermits), Carmelites, Trinitarians, Mercedarians, Servites, Minims, Hospitallers of St. John of God, and the Teutonic Order (the Austrian branch)
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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