FRIENDS.

FRIEND .........

• A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts
• A person whom one knows; an acquaintance
• A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade
• One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement.
  

Or

As the URBAN DICTIONARY would say ......

A real friend is someone who:

• it's okay to fart in front of.
• you don't mind talking to on the bus for at least 20 minutes.
• can borrow $5 and never has to pay it back
• you'll actually call up do stuff.

The word ‘friend’ is one of the rare cases in the English language whose meaning has remained consistent throughout hundreds of years of usage. The word of Germanic origin has existed in the English language since its founding in Old English. Back then, ‘friend’ existed as ‘freond’ which was the present participle of the verb freon, ‘to love’. The root of the verb was ‘fri-’ which meant ‘to like, love, or be affectionate to’.

To use the word ‘friend’ in Old English was to define a relationship with strong feelings, independent of sexual or family love- a meaning that is still very similar to the ‘friend’ we use over 1500 years later. ‘Friend’, in a period of warfare and conflict, was also defined by its antonym ‘enemy’. To be a ‘friend’ one could not be hostile towards the other- there were no friends on different sides of a conflict, and it was at this time that ‘friend’ extended its meaning to describe and define loyalty. By Middle English and beyond, a friend had the added connotation of someone who would financially help a particular institute and by the late 17th century friend was adopted into an adjective to mean, ‘well disposed, and not hostile’. - Language Study by Suite 101.

With modern methods of communication and the ever increasing popularity of social-networking sites (FaceBook, Twitter etc) the meaning of friend may well be the same but now more than ever we have more 'friends' than ever before as ......

The average person has double the number of online friends compared with physical ones, a study has concluded.

And people tended to be more open, confident and honest with their virtual friends than their 'real' counterparts.

The study, commissioned by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust shows that people typically have 121 online friends compared with 55 physical friends. - The Telegraph (09/05/2011).

121online friends and 55 physical ones? I wonder how that will change when people realise .......

FRIENDS CAN MAKE YOU FAT. Obesity is contagious and people who have a higher number of fat friends or family members are at greater risk of becoming obese themselves, according to a study.

Researchers said there were a number of ways that fat people could influence others. It could be subliminal, by making people think their weight was normal, but it could also be more direct, with obese people putting pressure on their slimmer friends to eat more and exercise less. - The Daily Telegraph (09/05/2011)

Well, what can I say? I've brought you some pretty incredulous 'research' stories over the last two years but I think the must get the award for being the most ridiculous.

Anyway,

What thinks you? What is your definition of a friend? How many people do you class as friends? Do you class your online friends as 'real' friends? Do let us know your thoughts.

And remember .........

So see you soon,