Fellowshipping

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of forming connections through shared activities fosters a sense of community and spirituality while enhancing interpersonal relationships and group cohesion
2. Participating in shared activities to deepen bonds with others through mutual exchange and companionship
3. Taking part in communal gatherings or social interactions to build relationships and a feeling of togetherness

Etymology: "Fellowshipping" is simply "fellowship" with the -ing ending added, so its history is really the history of the noun. "Fellow" goes back to Old English "feolaga," a partner in a shared enterprise, and the "-ship" suffix, from Old English "-scipe," denotes a state or condition, as in "friendship" or "hardship." Joined together in Middle English as "felowschipe," the noun meant the condition of being companions or partners. The most surprising twist is that the English noun may have been borrowed rather than built entirely at home. Some scholars suggest it was adapted from Old Norse "félagskapr" or "félagsskapr," a word meaning companionship or community. Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Old Swedish all have cognate words with similar senses, which points to a shared Scandinavian concept of people bound together by common purpose. Whether English built the word from its own parts or absorbed the Norse version remains uncertain.

Synonyms: associating, connecting, gathering, communicating, meeting