Word of the Day

: September 1, 2017

confrere

noun KAHN-frair

What It Means

: colleague, comrade

confrere in Context

"Antonio Sánchez is a drummer of sharp and sweeping talent, best known to some observers as the percussive engine behind the movie 'Birdman' and to others as a close confrere of the guitarist Pat Metheny." — The New York Times, 2 Sept. 2016

"A practiced collaborator …, [Andy] Warhol made other creatives his confreres early on too.… Working with interior designer Suzie Frankfurt, the pair's 'Wild Raspberries' was a silly, mock cookbook accompanied by delightfully oddball illustrations." — Felicia Feaster, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 June 2017

Did You Know?

Confrere arrived in English from Anglo-French in the 15th century, and ultimately derives from the Medieval Latin confrater, meaning "brother" or "fellow." (Frater, the root of this term, shares an ancient ancestor with our word brother.) English speakers also began using another descendant of confrater in the 15th century: confraternity, meaning "a society devoted to a religious or charitable cause." In the past, confrere was often used specifically of a fellow member of a confraternity, but these days it is used more generally.