Comradeship

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A bond of friendship and mutual trust shared by people united through common experiences, beliefs, or goals
2. A relationship of mutual loyalty and solidarity among those who share common purposes or struggles
3. Fellowship and trust developed between individuals bound by shared circumstances, ideals, or collective endeavors

Etymology: Comradeship is a plain compound: "comrade" plus the suffix "-ship," which is one of English's oldest and most productive ways of naming a state, quality or condition. The suffix descends from a Proto-Germanic root meaning something like "shape" or "form," the same idea that gives English "shape" itself. Over the centuries it passed through Old English as "-sċiepe," a word that could mean "condition" or "creation," before it settled into the modern "-ship" in English. The word "comrade" came into English from Spanish or Portuguese "camarada," meaning a roommate or a person sharing a room, which in turn grew from Latin "camera," a room or vault. Originally a comrade was simply someone you shared quarters with, and the sense of shared loyalty grew out of that daily companionship. Comradeship therefore joins a word for shared living space to a suffix for a state of being. The result describes the bond formed by people who have, quite literally or figuratively, shared a roof and the hardships under it.

Synonyms: friendship, fellowship, companionship, camaraderie

Antonyms: hostility, rivalry, antagonism