Five Minute Friday ~ Friend

Some claim that "friend" became a verb with the advent of Facebook back in the early 1900s.

I'm not finding that to be true.

According to most of the etymological dictionaries I've checked, friend was first used as a verb way back in the 14th century. That's like 6-700 years ago. No wonder Solomon fusses about there being nothing new under the sun! Sadly, though, its original meaning as a verb is now considered archaic. Most dictionaries these days that list friend (v) as simply meaning adding someone to your list of contacts on a social networking site. Nothing more... nothing less. A few sites list friend (v) as an archaic term meaning to befriend (be a friend... get it?) 

Blah... 

Facebook has kidnapped a beautiful word and I think we should steal it back...

I like thinking about the archaic version of friend as a verb because it implies an action. Yes, I understand the beauty of being able to just being... but a friend's significance is that s/he IS someone who DOES.... 

When I "archaically" friend someone, in my mind, I'm committing - and it is no small commitment -  to being and doing (as best I can) a potential whole lot of things determined by what my friend needs and wants, actions such as (not exhaustive and listed in no particular order than how they tumble from my mind, tip-toe through my fingers and materialize onto the screen): 

• listening, 
• sharing, 
• believing, 
• trusting, 
• helping, 
• laughing with, 
• crying with, 
• forgiving,
• being forgiven by,
• inviting, 
• visiting,
• cooking meals for and with, 
• walking beside, 
• sacrificing for, 
• being patient with, 
• enjoying,
• choosing, 
• enduring with and for, 
• caring, 
• confronting, 
• encouraging, 
• freeing from my expectations, 
• sometimes carrying, 
• sometimes being carried by, 
• accepting, 
• loving... 

Anyone else want to join a covert op with the goal of reclaiming archaic friend (v)?

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