Felowschipe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Friendly companionship or close association between people ; a body of people bound together by a common aim or belief ; a funded position allowing a scholar to study or research at a university college
2. The state of being companions or friends ; an organized group whose members share a common purpose ; a stipend-supported post that lets a scholar work at a college
3. Warm mutual company between people who share ties ; a society of individuals held together by shared goals ; an academic award or position that pays a researcher to study at a college

Etymology: "Fellow" comes from Old Norse "félagi", a partner in a "félag", a partnership formed from "fé", meaning property or money, and "lag", meaning a laying down or joining together. The earliest partners were literally putting their goods down together for a shared venture. Old English borrowed the word as "feolaga", likely through close contact between Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavian settlers. The ending "-ship" comes from Old English "-scipe", meaning state, condition or quality, the same suffix found in "friendship" and "hardship". Attached to "fellow", it named the condition of being partners. That sense widened into companionship and then into membership of a group, such as a university fellowship. The spelling "felowschipe" is simply the Middle English form of the same word.