FRIAR
What does "FRIAR" mean?
A member of a Christian mendicant religious order, such as the Franciscans or Dominicans.
Meanings
- A man belonging to a mendicant order who lives by preaching and charity rather than within a cloistered monastery. The friar walked from village to village, begging bread and giving sermons.
Did you know?
- A friar is not the same as a monk: the four great orders of friars - Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Augustinians - took vows of corporate poverty and lived among ordinary people by begging, rather than retreating behind monastery walls.
Word origin
From Old French 'frere' meaning brother, from Latin 'frater', adopted in the 13th century as the new mendicant orders spread across Europe.
Remember it
A FRIAR is a brother of the road - 'friar' comes from the French 'frere', brother, the same root as 'fraternity'.
A little poem
No roof he owns, no field, no key,
yet every doorway is his hall -
the poorest man, and somehow free.
tercet
Wordplay
- Why couldn't the monk and the friar share a kitchen? One liked everything cloistered, the other wanted it fried in the open.
What it teaches
Owning nothing can be a kind of wealth; the man with no door to lock has no thief to fear.
Quick facts
What does FRIAR mean?
A member of a Christian mendicant religious order, such as the Franciscans or Dominicans.
Is FRIAR a valid word?
Yes — FRIAR is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is FRIAR?
FRIAR has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does FRIAR come from?
From Old French 'frere' meaning brother, from Latin 'frater', adopted in the 13th century as the new mendicant orders spread across Europe.
What can FRIAR teach us?
Owning nothing can be a kind of wealth; the man with no door to lock has no thief to fear.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.