Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for FRI'AR
FRI'AR, n. [Fr. frère, a brother, contracted from L. frater. See Brother.]
- An appellation common to the monks of all orders; those who enter religious orders considering themselves as a fraternity or brotherhood. Friars are generally distinguished into four principal branches, viz.
- Minors, gray friars or Franciscans; 2. Augustines; 3. Dominicans or black friars; 4. White friars or Carmelites.
- In a restricted sense, a monk who is not a priest; those friars who are in orders being called fathers.
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