compadre means A friend or companion. It carries an Arena rating of 1569, earned across 20 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, compadre ranks #3,263 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #4,403 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,967 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #5,410 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
Why “compadre” is a great word
COMPADRE — [Noun] A close friend, companion, or godfather, especially in Spanish-influenced contexts. Borrowed from Spanish compadre ("joint father, godfather, friend"), from Medieval Latin compater ("co-father, godfather"). First attested in English in 1834. Unlike “compeer,” which denotes a formal equal in rank, or “companion,” which implies mere accompaniment, “compadre” carries the sacred, familial weight of a baptismal bond extended into lifelong solidarity. It is the shared responsibility for a child’s soul, the unwavering hand on your shoulder at a funeral, and the unspoken understanding over a shared bottle at dusk—a kinship chosen, not given, and thus rendered inviolable.
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish compadre (“joint father, godfather, friend”). Doublet of compeer, compere, and goombah.
noun
- A friend or companion.e.g.“Whenever he had a compadre or a friend, it was his bounden duty to do him some service.” — 1839, J. P., W. P. Robertson, Letters from Paraguay, comprising an account of four years residence in that republic, under the dictator Francia, London: John Murray, page 339:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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