pal

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“
For my pal was a criminal--oh, not a jewel of the first water, merely a petty criminal who would steal and rob, commit burglary, and, if cornered, not stop short of murder.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A friend; a chum.
  2. intransitive verb To associate as friends or chums. Often used with around.
  3. Word History
    Pal, like buddy and chum, has an informal, thoroughly "American” ring to it. Its source, though, is rather unusual—Romany, the Indic language of the Gypsies. First recorded in English in the 17th century, pal was borrowed from a Romany word meaning "brother, comrade,” which occurs as phal in the Romany spoken in England and phral in the Romany spoken in Europe. Gypsies speak an Indic language because they originally migrated to Europe from the border region between Iran and India. In other Indic languages we find related words meaning "brother,” such as Hindustani bhāi and Prakrit bhāda or bhāyā; they all come from Sanskrit bhrātā, which in turn traces its ancestry to the same Indo-European word that our word brother does.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • It seems, though, that he and his pal are wanted in California on a prior charge. —  Walter and the Wireless
  • You don't want to see your own pal--sacked Precious little chance of that There is the chance Scaife hesitated. —  The Hill A Romance of Friendship
  • We found nothing bearing on the murder, but plenty to show that Keller and his pal were running a pretty hot shop H'm! —  The Grell Mystery
  • And then they was a-jawin' about the shine up here that night, and the pal was a-chaffin' Mashing cos of the wipin' my bloke give 'im, and Mashing he says he reckons he's quits with the prig--meaning the governor--by this time, he says. —  My Friend Smith A Story of School and City Life
  • "I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails There are three men waiting for him at the door," said Holmes Oh, indeed! —  Short Stories of Various Types
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

buddy ·  chum ·  gal ·  comrade ·  sweetheart ·  crony ·  girlfriend ·  colleague ·  mentor ·  chap ·  classmate ·  boss

Used in the same contextWord Family

pal:   pals
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Romany phral, phal, from Sanskrit bhrātā, bhrātr-, brother; see bhrāter- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Also pall; said to be Gipsy. See the second quot.
 

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/pæl/
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