buddy
Meanings
Plural: buddies
Noun
- a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
- A friend or casual acquaintance.
- A partner for a particular activity.
- An informal and friendly address to a stranger, usually male; a friendly (or occasionally antagonistic) placeholder name for a person one does not know.
Pron
- A person far removed from the conversation.
Verb
- To assign a buddy, or partner, to.
Adj
- Resembling a bud.
Origin / Etymology
First appears c. 1788, in the writings of Charles Dibdin, of uncertain origin. Possibly from *bruddy, *bruthy, a child-talk alteration of brother. Alternatively, perhaps from British colloquial butty (“companion”), also the form of an older dialect term meaning workmate, associated with coal mining. Itself believed derived from 1530 as booty fellow, a partner with whom one shares booty or loot. Alternatively, compare Scots buddo, bodda (“buddy, kiddo, dear”), related to Icelandic budda (“purse"; also "short, stout person”).
Synonyms
babber, billy, bredrin, brother, bruv, bud, buddo, buddy, butty, chaver, china, chuck, chum, cobber, cock, cocker, compadre, companion, comrade, cove, crony, dawg, duck, dude, fam, fellow, fettler, friend, geez, geezer, gink, good old boy, homeskillet, homie, kith, lover, marrow, mate, matey, mucker, old bean, pal, pardner, partner, peeps, shag, sidekick, sport, surry, tovarish, wantok
Scrabble Score: 12
buddy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordbuddy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
buddy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary