Pally

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpali/

Definitions

1. Having a friendly, informal, and close relationship with someone
2. Describing a person or attitude that is amicable and companionable
3. Indicating a casual or warm connection between individuals

Etymology: Most people assume "pally" is simply a friendly tweak of "pal," but the word has a second, older parent: "paladin." The source records that "pally" is a clipping of "paladin," the knightly companion of Charlemagne, shortened and given the diminutive suffix "-y." Over time the chivalric sense faded, and what remained was the cosy idea of companionship. The other route runs through "pal" itself, which is the more familiar source. "Pal" was borrowed into English from Romani, where "phral" means "brother," and the adjectival suffix "-y" then turned it into a description of friendly terms. The word "friary," a monastery of friars, is related to "pally" only as a piecewise doublet, meaning the two words share a root and split apart in English, one keeping the monastic sense and the other the familiar one.

Synonyms: friendly, chummy, intimate

Antonyms: hostile, unfriendly