288: bro Sep 22, 2015

There are many word for friends, but they are not so different as you may think. The informal, 'bro' is clearly shortened from 'brother' demonstrating closeness; but what about words like 'buddy' or 'pal'. 'Pal' came to English in the late 17th century from Indo-Aryan language, Romany, which means ‘brother, mate,’which was based on the Sanskrit word, 'bhrātṛ' which means ‘brother’. 'Buddy' is a much newer word, and is believed to be an alteration of 'brother'.