Mates

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /meɪts/

Definitions

1. Connections forged between people sharing camaraderie or support
2. Participants involved in cooperative or social arrangements for mutual benefit
3. People who have a friendly relationship or share companionship ; individuals who collaborate or work together on tasks ; two animals that come together to reproduce

Etymology: "Mates" is the plural of "mate", and the noun traces back to a word for sharing a meal. In early Germanic, a "gamatô" was a messmate or table companion, someone you ate with. Middle English took the word from Middle Low German "mate", a term that first meant messmate, probably originating among seamen, who shared ship's rations in close quarters. Its relative in Old English, "ġemetta", meant a sharer of food or a table guest, so the native and borrowed forms had the same core sense. The sense of companionship grew out of that shared table. Someone who ate with you had a bond with you, and over time the word broadened from the people at a mess to any close companion, comrade or partner. The plural "mates" carries this sense of a group of friends or fellow workers.

Synonyms: friends, companions, allies, partners, comrades

Antonyms: enemies, rivals, opponents, adversaries, strangers