Comrade

How to spell comrade

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce comrade

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does comrade mean?

1. nounA close companion or associate, especially one who shares in your activities, struggles, or cause.

Comrade in a sentence

• He raised a glass to an old army comrade he had not seen in years.

• He still writes to a comrade from his old regiment every year.

Where does comrade come from?

Language of origin: French

Comrade reached English in the 1500s from the French camarade, which French had taken in turn from the Spanish camarada. In Spanish that word literally meant a roomful of people or a 'chamber-mate', the group of soldiers who shared a single barrack room, and it grew out of the Latin camera, meaning 'vaulted chamber' or 'room'. From the idea of men billeted together the sense broadened to any close companion who shares hardship or a common cause, which is why it still carries that flavour of loyal fellowship today. In the twentieth century it took on a strong political colouring as the standard form of address among socialists and communists, a translation of the Russian tovarishch. The hidden trap in the spelling is the silent 'a' tucked in the middle (com-RA-de), a leftover from that Latin camera 'chamber' that gave us the word in the first place.

How the word is built

• comrad- (from Spanish camarada: roommate, ultimately from Latin camera 'chamber, room')
• -e