Freund

Borrowed from German Freund (literally “friend”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈfrɛu̯nt]

Freund m anim (female equivalent Freundová)

1. a male surname from German

Inherited from Middle High German vriunt, from Old High German friunt, from Proto-West Germanic *friund, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“lit., the loving one; lover, loved one, friend”), from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *preyH-.

Cognate with Dutch vriend, German Low German Fründ, Luxembourgish Frënd, West Frisian freon, English friend, Danish frænde (“relative”), Faroese frændi (“friend, relative”), Icelandic frændi (“relative”), Norwegian Bokmål frende (“relative”), Norwegian Nynorsk frende (“relative”), Swedish frände (“relative”), Welsh ffrind (“friend”), Yiddish פֿרײַנד (fraynd, “friend”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds, “friend”), Old English frēond (“friend, lover”), Old Norse frændi (“friend, relative”).

• IPA^(key): /frɔʏ̯nt/, [fʁɔʏ̯nt]

• Audio:

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• Audio (Austria):

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Freund m (strong, genitive Freundes or Freunds, plural Freunde, diminutive Freundchen n or Freundlein n, feminine Freundin)

1. friend

   Lass uns Freunde bleiben. ― Let’s stay friends.

2. boyfriend

   Hast du einen Freund? ― Do you have a boyfriend?

3. (obsolete) blood relative (in the sense of a person that is or should be one’s friend by nature)

• Freund (and Freundin) may refer to either a platonic friend or a romantic partner. When used in the singular with a possessive (mein Freund, ihr Freund, etc.), the word usually has a romantic implication, unless the context suggests otherwise. When used with an indefinite article (ein Freund, eine Freundin), a platonic relationship is assumed. Alternative phrasing like "ein Freund von mir" using von instead of possessives may be used to avoid the possible implications of the possessive forms.
• If it's necessary to distinguish between a platonic and a romantic relationship, feste(r) Freund(in) (lit. steady boyfriend/girlfriend) always indicates a romantic relationship. Another qualifier with Freund(in), such as gute(r) or beste(r) usually indicates a platonic relationship.

  Ich kann dein guter Freund sein, aber ich kann nicht dein fester Freund sein.

  I can be your good friend, but I can't be your boyfriend.

• Most derived terms, such as befreundet or Freundschaft, are restricted to the platonic sense, however.

Freund m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Freunds or (with an article) Freund, feminine genitive Freund, plural Freunds)

1. a surname

• “Freund” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Freund” in Duden online