fellow
fellow
(fĕlʹō) noun
1.
a. A man or boy. b. Informal. A boyfriend.
2. A comrade or an associate.
3. a. A person of equal rank, position, or background; a peer. b. One of a pair; a mate: found the lost shoe and its fellow.
4. Abbr. F, F. A member of a learned society.
5. Abbr. F, F. A graduate student appointed to a position granting financial aid and providing for further study.
6. Abbr. F, F. Chiefly British. a. An incorporated senior member of certain colleges and universities. b. A member of the governing body of certain colleges and universities.
7. Obsolete. A person of a lower social class.
adjective
Being of the same kind, group, occupation, society, or locality; having in common certain characteristics or interests: fellow workers.
[Middle English felau, from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse fēlagi, business partner, fellow, from fēlag, partnership : fē, property, money + lag, a laying down.]
Word History:
A jolly good fellow might or might not be the ideal business associate, but the ancestor of our word fellow definitely referred to a business partner. Fellow, borrowed into English from Old Norse, is related to the Old Icelandic word fēlagi, meaning "a partner or shareholder of any kind." Old Icelandic fēlagi is derived from fēlag,"partnership," a compound made up of fē,"livestock, property, money," and lag,"a laying in order" and "fellowship." The notion of putting one's property together lies behind the senses of fēlagi meaning "partner" and "consort." In Old Icelandic fēlagi also had the general sense "fellow, mate, comrade," which fellow has as well, indicating perhaps that most partnerships turned out all right for speakers of Old Icelandic.