man Friday
English
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man Friday
- /ˌmæn ˈfɹaɪdeɪ/ UK
- /-di/ UK
- /ˌmæn ˈfɹaɪˌdeɪ/ US
- /-di/ US
Rhymes with -aɪdeɪ, -aɪdi
Where it comes from
From man (“adult male servant”) + Friday, coined by the English writer Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 1731) in his novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) as the name of the protagonist Crusoe’s companion and servant; he is rescued by Crusoe from cannibal captives on a Friday. Crusoe frequently refers to him as “my man Friday”.
noun man Fridays · men Friday · men Fridays
- A trusted man whose job is to assist and organize someone else's day-to-day business or personal tasks; a personal assistant, a right-hand man; also, a trusted male companion. This man—our lackey, our servant, our unquestioning slave though he was, was still a gentleman— […] We asked our man Friday’s name.
- An aborigine or native, especially one who inhabits an island. Unfortunately along with the Birds go some few Tarzans or Men Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are being hopefully wished on to Mauritius etc.
Talk about this word "man Friday." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/man%20friday. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. man Friday. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/man%20friday "man Friday." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/man%20friday.Cite this
@misc{man_friday_2026,
title = {man Friday},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/man%20friday},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
