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Get Friendly With the Definition of Compadre
In Spanish, a child’s father and godfather are, to each other, “compadres”—that is, “co-fathers”—but in English the word refers simply to a close friend. Like amigo, Spanish compadre is a masculine term; the equivalent feminine term is comadre. The earliest known evidence of compadre in English use comes from an 1834 book by Albert Pike, in which both compadre and comadre appear. Comadre makes occasional appearances in English contexts, but it has yet to become established sufficiently in the language to join its compadre in our dictionaries.
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“Compadre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compadre. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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