See Also: Friar(medicine)
friar(dictionary)
friar(dictionary)
black friar(medicine)
white friar(medicine)
Friar Tuck(dictionary)
Tuck, Friar(dictionary)
Christchurch-Friar's Cliff Beach(tourism)

friar (iou)



friar noun. . ME.
[Old & mod. French frere from Latin frater, fratr- brother.]
Brother (chiefly fig.); comrade. Long arch. rare. ME.
A member of any of certain religious orders of men, esp. the four mendicant orders: the Franciscans (Grey Friars, Friars Minor), Augustinians (Austin Friars), Dominicans (Black Friars, Friars Major), and Carmelites (White Friars). ME.
Pied Friars, preaching friars, etc.
b. In pl. The quarters of an order of friars; a name for the part of a town where such a friary once stood. ME.
Any of various fishes. local. E17.
Printing. A light patch amongst printed matter on a page, due to insufficient inking. (Cf. MONK noun1 2.) L17.
In full friar-bird. Any of various honeyeaters of the largely Australasian genus Philemon, members of which have black, partly naked heads. L18.
Comb.: friar-bird: see sense 5 above; friar's balsam tincture of benzoin used as an application for ulcers and wounds, or as an expectorant.
friarly adjective & adverb (a) adjective of or pertaining to friars, resembling or characteristic of a friar; (b) adverb after the manner of the friars: M16.