In Latin, camara or camera denoted a vaulted ceiling or roof. Later, the word simply mean “room, chamber” and was inherited by many European languages with that meaning. In the Spanish, the word became cámara, and a derivative of that was camarada “a group of soldiers quartered in a room” and hence “fellow soldier, companion.” That Spanish word was borrowed into French as camarade and then into Elizabethan English as both camerade and comerade.
He enjoys spending time with his old army comrades.
the boy, and two others who are known to be his comrades, are wanted for questioning by the police
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The troops earned the same eight pence a day as their British comrades, minus deductions for food and uniforms.—/ Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025 Believing radical change requires violence to overthrow the old order, the two women and their fellow comrades launch an armed attack on wealthy landowners in a stately villa.—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025 Hunted by military police and sentenced to death by their comrades, only two survive to attempt to reconstruct their lives.—Holly Jones, Variety, 17 May 2025 Indeed, the three-time Grammy winner and Zac Brown Band founding member spent summer 2024 traveling the country with his musical comrades and alongside Kenny Chesney on the Sun Goes Down tour, all while Hopkins continued to battle degenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).—Tricia Despres, People.com, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for comrade
Word History
Etymology
Middle French camarade group sleeping in one room, roommate, companion, from Old Spanish camarada, from cámara room, from Late Latin camera, camara — more at chamber
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