friendship
Meaning
a relationship between friends
the feelings or behavior that exist between friends
Structure
Usage
their friendship has lasted for over thirty years.
she values honesty and loyalty in friendship.
the project was born out of a strong professional friendship.
Etymology
the word 'friendship' is a native english compound, formed from two old english elements. the first element, 'friend', originates from the proto-germanic frijōndz, the present participle of frijōną meaning 'to love', which itself derives from the proto-indo-european root prī-, meaning 'to be fond of, to love'. the second element, the suffix '-ship', comes from old english '-scipe', akin to old high german '-scaf', denoting a state, condition, or quality. thus, the literal construction 'friend-ship' elegantly captures the abstract state or condition of being a friend, evolving from a concrete action of loving to the modern concept of a mutual affectionate bond.
Analysis
friend (old english, meaning 'loving one, friend'); ship (old english, a noun-forming suffix meaning 'state, condition, quality')