Defriending

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The act of removing a person from a list of friends on a social media platform
2. Performing the action of deleting a contact from one's connections on a digital networking site
3. Ending a virtual friendship by eliminating someone from an online friends or contacts list

Etymology: "Defriend" is built from the prefix "de-", meaning "undo" or "remove," and "friend," which traces back through Middle English "frend" and Old English "frēond" to a Proto-Germanic root that also gave rise to the verb "to free" and the idea of being loved or cherished. The English word "friend" is therefore a very old word, while "defriend" is a much more recent addition built on top of it. "De-" was used in English for centuries to reverse an action, as in "defrost" or "deflate," and speakers applied it to "friend" to mean removing someone from one's circle of friends. The new sense was extended to the online sense of removing a contact from a social network, which is why "defriending" now describes the act of dropping someone from a friends list on a website or app.