confrere
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confrere
Where it comes from
From Old French confrere, from Latin confrāter.
The word which was originally only used for the second sense became obsolete in the 17th century and reappeared in the mid 18th century as a re-borrowing of Modern French confrère whence the first sense is from.
noun confreres · confrère
- A colleague or fellow, especially a professional one. Unfortunately, when it comes to the informant who turns state’s evidence against a confrere, the OED slaps on the obscure origin label.
- A fellow member of a religious organization, referring especially to Catholic religious orders of men. Roger Bacon had little reverence for their Franciscan confrere, Alexander of Hales...
