PRIETEN · PRIJATELЬ · DRUGЪ

Prietenul: the one who wishes you well

Prieten comes from Slavic prijatelь — etymologically “the one who wishes you well”, from prijati “to be well-disposed” + -telь. Around it stands a whole family: the verb prijati and prijaznь “friendship, fidelity” — and in the verified Slavic Gospels, drugъ also appears for “friend”. Romanian inherited prijatelь as “prieten”, dated-attested since 1642. The whole etymology of prieten stands in dictionaries and texts.

Meet the family

one family: prijati · prijatelь · prijaznь — verb, person, relation; drugъ, the Gospels' rival
1642: “fă priiaten pre Domnul”: the oldest directly verified dated attestation
0×: prijatel- in the 4 verified CCMH Gospel books; drugъ stands there

Three pictures, one friend:

Marianus, David and Jonathan, Varlaam: three ways of seeing one friend.

Family
Years
Cousins
Witnesses
The tally
Three dates
Dispute
Game
Sources

The page machine

The family, word by word

Seven pieces, three languages, four tenses: attested Slavic sits in the machine; starred forms are reconstructions; the modern Slavic languages sit with the cousins; old Romanian sits in the years. Press each piece: see which language it comes from and which dictionary holds it. The RO/LA/SL labels show the language.

prieten today's Romanian · DEX-attested RO

DEX '09: “– Din sl. prijatelĩ” — the Slavic etymon, as DEX gives it. Plural prieteni, feminine prietenă. (DEX)

amic today's Romanian · neologism RO

DER: “Lat. amicus (19th c.)” — brought in with re-Latinization; it never pushed the Slavic loan out. Prieten stays. (DER)

prijatelь Old Slavic · SJS-attested SL

SJS, III, p. 331: “přítel, друг, приятель, Freund: — φίλος; amicus” — Euchologium, Rila. (SJS)

prijati Old Slavic · attested verb SL

Derksen: “*prijati v. 'please, favour'” — the verb the friend comes from, not “to take”. (Derksen)

drugъ Old Slavic · verified Gospels SL

SJS: “přítel, druh… — φίλος, ἑταῖρος; amicus, socius” — Jn 15: “vy druzi moi este”. (SJS, CCMH)

amicus Latin · gloss LA

The SJS gloss for prijatelь; translations map the continuants onto amicus, the friend in Latin. (SJS)

proximus the neighbour LA

Dosoftei, Ps 14: renders proximo as “prietin” — “Ș-a prietin scădere / Nu va face-ntr-avere”. (Dosoftei)

pri-jęti does NOT enter the family: “to take to oneself” is the trap homograph (приꙗти “to be well-disposed” vs приѩти “to receive”, with the nasal) — it stands in the dispute, with Vasmer's verdict beside it.

At home

Silence, then the flood: 1642–1673

In the 16th-century texts we checked, the word does not occur — Scheiana lacks the word; from 1642, prieten flows: teachings, sermon books, law codes, psalms, chronicles.

Silence: Scheiana, zero

The Scheiană Psalter (ms. copied around 1573–1578) has no prieten: Ps 37 “Soții miei și vecinii miei… și apropiații miei”. Neither does Gaster, pp. 1–67 (Coresi, Palia). (Scheiană)

1642: the firm date

Melhisedec, Teachings, Câmpulung: “dă săracilor și fă priiaten pre Domnul”. The oldest attestation with a year on it, among those verified directly. (Gaster I, 96)

1643–1673: the flood

Varlaam: “priiatni de priiatni”; Meletie 1644: “…nu a iubi numai prietenii tăi”; the 1652 Pravila: “priiatenii, vecinii… cu arme”; Dosoftei 1673: five psalms; Costin: “Priiateni pre nimini n-are”. (Gaster)

The old triplet and the rivals

Varlaam, Dosoftei and the Pravila set them side by side, not against each other: “priiatni de priiatni. Și soț de soț”. The rivals never formed a stable pair: amic (Lat., 19th c.), tovarăș (Ukr./Russ.), ortac (Serbo-Cr. ortak, reg.), soț–tovarăș (pop.). (DEX)

Forms: from priiaten to pretin

Gaster II, 509: priiaten, priiatin, prietin, priaten, prieteșug… Mold. prietin, Trans. pretin, Olt. preten; the feminine prietenă is a Romanian derivation. (Gaster, DER)

Joined hands on a Roman relief — Dextrarum iunctio, Rome: joined hands seal the bond. Photo: Agnete, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

DEX: prieten →

The same family, other languages: the modern Slavic ones

Cousins: from drug to in-law

Eight modern cousins, one family: Russian splits it in two (Ozhegov), Ukrainian holds приятель ≈ друг (SUM-20), Croatian stretches prijatelj to the in-law (HJP).

East: друг against приятель

Ozhegov: друг is “связан… дружбой”, приятель is “близкий… знакомый” — the bond against the acquaintance. Ushakov ranks друг above приятель, with дружба beside it. Kataev: “Приятелей… много, а настоящих друзей всего один”. A modern Russian contrast, not evidence for Old Slavic. (Ozhegov, Ushakov)

Ukraine: приятель ≈ друг

SUM-20: приятель — “в дружніх, товариських стосунках… Те саме, що друг”. Ukrainian holds the pair undivided, unlike modern Russian. (SUM-20)

West: Czechs, Slovaks, Poles

Czech přítel, a trusted “kamarád” (SSJČ); Slovak priateľ, “v núdzi poznáš” (KSSJ); Polish przyjaciel, between “stosunki serdeczne” and the euphemism “kochanek” (PWN). The middle of the family, three ways. (SSJČ, PWN)

South: Bulgarians and Croats

Bg. приятел: “близост, обич и доверие” (RBE). Cr. prijatelj: HJP also gives the ethnological sense — “otac jednoga od bračnih drugova prema ocu drugoga”: the friend as in-law. A single citation. (HJP)

Leakage toward kinship

Old Czech: pl. přátelé = “relatives” (SSJČ); Banat c. 1700: “Consaguineus. Pretien” (Lex. Mars.); MDA2: (Trs) “rudă”. At the edges, the friend leaks toward kin. (SSJČ, DLRLV)

The allegory of friendship, Hoefnagel — Hoefnagel, the allegory of friendship: two people, one good deed. Photo: Joris Hoefnagel, Wikimedia Commons, public domain

HJP: prijatelj →

Who heard the friendship

Four witnesses

From DEX to SJS and Rejzek: four dictionaries, each hearing one member of the family.

DEX: prieten

“PRIETEN, -Ă … Persoană de care cineva este legat printr-o afecțiune deosebită… – Din sl. prijatelĩ.”

The explanatory dictionary, s.v. prieten

The Romanian sheet: definition + the Slavic etymon “prijatelĩ”, as DEX gives it. The most cited seal.

DER: the final consonant

“Sl. prijateli… Alterarea consoanei finale… se datorează mai curînd unei confuzii cu sl. prijętinŭ “plăcut”.”

Ciorănescu, DER, s.v. prieten

The etymological verdict: the -n comes from “plăcut”, not from ieftin.

SJS: ПРИꙖТЕЛЬ

“přítel, друг, приятель, Freund: — φίλος; amicus, susceptor (Euch 80b, 65a; Ryl 2b; Const 11…)”

SJS, III, p. 331

Old Slavic with documents: Euchologium, Rila, Constantine. The heaviest sheet.

Rejzek: the well-wisher

“Psl. *prijatelь … “kdo přeje dobro, kdo má rád” — from *prijati + -telь.”

Rejzek, Czech etymological dictionary

The etymological derivation: the form is explained as “the one who wishes you well”, from *prijati + -telь.

SJS, vol. III (scan) →

Where we stand

What we know and what we reconstruct

Four drawers for the whole page: the family, the stars, why it holds, and what stays open.

What we know

prieten ← prijatelь (SJS, Euch./Rila) ← prijati “to be well-disposed” + -telь; modern Russian ranks drug above приятель (Ushakov, a modern contrast); Romanian attests dated from 1642, with the prieten–soț–vecin triplet.

What we reconstruct

*prijatelь, *prijati, PIE *priH- “to love, hold dear” — Skt priyá- “dear”, Goth frijōnds “friend”, Eng. friend. Starred forms, not documented ones.

Why it holds

DEX + DER + SJS + Vasmer + Derksen + Rejzek tell one family; the 19th-century amic never pushed the Slavic loan out (Jakubowicz after Boryś); the verified Gospels (CCMH) keep drugъ apart.

What stays open

“At: PSALT, 181” — working hypothesis: Candrea 1916, vol. II, p. 181 (vol. I checked: zero); its witness and date, to be established; the feminine prietenă — first attested when?; the 16th century — a hole in the checked texts; the plural stress — unmarked.

Three stops

Three dates

The whole road on one rail: the firm date, the psalms, the allies.

Melhisedec
1642
Câmpulung, Teachings: “fă priiaten pre Domnul” — the friend with a year on it, the oldest verified directly.
stop at 1 of 3
Dosoftei
1673
Uniev, the Psalter in verse: five psalms with prietin; Ps 14 renders proximo — the neighbour becomes the friend.
stop at 2 of 3
Neculce
1733–43
Chronicle (ms. c. 1733–1743): “muntenii sunt prieteni cu moscalii”; “prieten lui Costantin-vodă și dușman lui Mihai-vodă” — allies, not pals.
stop at 3 of 3

1643 Varlaam · 1644 Meletie · 1652 Pravila · c. 1670 Costin · 1879 Cihac.

The road of the friend

prijati
the attested verb: to be well-disposed
prijatelь
etymologically: the one who wishes well
prieten
the friend, at home

Where the threads tangle

Three question marks, no winner

The family is solid — the homographs are not. The page verdict: DISPUTED

To take or to wish well?

“pri-jęti, the one taken to oneself” sounds good, but no dictionary says it: Vasmer explicitly separates приятный (from jęti, “to take”) from the prijati family. The trap sits in the homographs: приꙗти “to be well-disposed” vs приѩти “to receive”. A verdict with the source beside it: the prijati family.

prijaznь: mother or sister?

Rejzek: *prijaznь “is derived from *prijati” — the sister of *prijatelь, not the mother. Affection does not give birth to the friend; both come out of goodwill. (Rejzek, Vasmer)

Where is the 16th-century prieten?

Scheiana: zero. Gaster, pp. 1–67 (Coresi, Palia): zero. MDA2 says “At: PSALT, 181” — working hypothesis: the Candrea comparative edition (1916); vol. I (the introduction), checked in full, lacks the form, so vol. II, p. 181 remains: its witness and date, to be established. The hole stays visible.

No disputed branch gets a single uncited truth on this page: the mechanisms stand with their source beside them, and the homographs stay on the table.

What is NOT disputed: prieten ← prijatelь ← prijati + -telь; the drugъ of the verified Gospels (CCMH); the years 1642–1673, directly verified dated attestations.

Vasmer: the split (mirror, Russian transl.) →

Test yourself

Put each word in its place

Six words, six places: the verb, the person, the relation, the Gospels, the neologism, the common cause. Set each word in its place.

Move each card to its place, 1 to 6; the legend says what stands at each number. Keys 1–6 move the chosen card; cards also drag by finger.

1 — the verb “to be well-disposed” (Derksen)
2 — the person: the friend (SJS)
3 — the relation: friendship, fidelity (SJS)
4 — the friend from the verified Gospels (CCMH)
5 — the modern Latin loan (DEX, DER)
6 — the companion of a common cause (DEX)

2
prijatelь — the Slavic friend (SJS)
Place
5
amic — from Latin, 19th c. (DER)
Place
3
prijaznь — Slavic friendship (SJS)
Place
6
tovarăș — by a common cause (DEX)
Place
1
prijati — the Slavic verb (Derksen)
Place
4
drugъ — from the Gospels (CCMH)
Place

Score: 0 of 6

The right pairs:

1 prijati — the Slavic verb (Derksen) — the verb “to be well-disposed” (Derksen)
2 prijatelь — the Slavic friend (SJS) — the person: the friend (SJS)
3 prijaznь — Slavic friendship (SJS) — the relation: friendship, fidelity (SJS)
4 drugъ — from the Gospels (CCMH) — the friend from the verified Gospels (CCMH)
5 amic — from Latin, 19th c. (DER) — the modern Latin loan (DEX, DER)
6 tovarăș — by a common cause (DEX) — the companion of a common cause (DEX)

prijati = the verb (Derksen); prijatelь = the person (SJS); prijaznь = the relation (SJS); drugъ = the Gospels (CCMH); amic = the Latin neologism (DER); tovarăș = the common cause (DEX).

Sources

First the Slavic family, then the Romanian dictionaries and the cousins; the neighbours last. Every risky claim points at its source.