Friaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A religious residence or community for monks, often affiliated with the Franciscan order
2. A building or complex housing such a community, serving as a center for worship and service
3. Establishments used for prayer, study, and communal living by members of a particular religious order

Etymology: "Friaries" is the plural of "friary," a building where a community of friars lives. The plural form is simply the noun with its ending changed from -y to -ies, so the real story lies in the root. "Friar" comes from Old French "frere," meaning "brother," which descends from Latin "frater," the same word that gave English "fraternal" and "brother" a distant cousin status through shared Indo-European ancestry. The noun "friary" is built by adding the suffix "-y," a nominal ending that marks a place or a condition, to "friar." So a friary is, quite literally, the place of the brothers. Just as a "nunnery" is the place where nuns live, a friary is the house of friars, members of religious orders who, unlike monks, typically lived and worked among ordinary people.

Synonyms: monastery, convent, religious house, priory, abbey