According to Ask Jeeves, this is the definition of friend:
Webster's definition is:
The reason I look these up is that lately I have been thinking about whether or not I'm truly considered anyone's "friend" or for that matter anyone's "best friend." Sure we all have people we regularly see & chat with but when are they considered "friends?" Besides my pets I'm not sure if I'm really anyone's "best friend." What really is the criteria for a "best friend?" Is this criteria subjective or objective? Is friendship an unspoken thing that you should just know? No, this entry doesn't mean I have low self-esteem it just means I wonder how & why people classify others the way they do. This post is also not to be offensive, especially to those that do consider me their "friend."
- Friend (n.) One who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society and welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant.(n.) One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address.(n.) One who looks propitiously on a cause, an institution, a project, and the like; a favorer; a promoter; as, a friend to commerce, to poetry, to an institution.(n.) One of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers.(n.) A paramour of either sex.(v. t.) To act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend.
Webster's definition is:
- 1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)4 : a favored companion5 capitalized : a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war -- called also Quaker
The reason I look these up is that lately I have been thinking about whether or not I'm truly considered anyone's "friend" or for that matter anyone's "best friend." Sure we all have people we regularly see & chat with but when are they considered "friends?" Besides my pets I'm not sure if I'm really anyone's "best friend." What really is the criteria for a "best friend?" Is this criteria subjective or objective? Is friendship an unspoken thing that you should just know? No, this entry doesn't mean I have low self-esteem it just means I wonder how & why people classify others the way they do. This post is also not to be offensive, especially to those that do consider me their "friend."
posted by Alaina @ 11:00 PM
2 Comments:
At 2:14 PM,
Dana Lee said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
At 2:16 PM,
Dana Lee said…
I think the term "best friend" is often misused and overused. All friends are different, filling different parts of your life, bringing out different parts of who you are-- so I generally believe that assigning friends hierarchtical titles like "best" or "better" is just, well, unfriendly.
Friendship is undefined, and in the truest cases, unspoken. And I disagree with Webster's attempt to define a friend as: "One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc."
The truth of the matter is, sometimes the best thing a friend can do is be hostile (in a friendly way, of course), and it's important to have friends who are different than you, having different ideas and beliefs--that's what makes friendship fun and interesting. Good friends challenge and question each other-- You're very challenging! That's why You're My friend! hee-hee!
Post a Comment
<< Home