penfriend means A person, often in a foreign country, with whom one exchanges friendly correspondence but whom one never or rarely meets. It carries an Arena rating of 1488, earned across 39 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, penfriend ranks #1,969 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #5,686 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #7,210 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #7,301 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “penfriend” is a great word
PENFRIEND — [Noun] A person, often in a foreign country, with whom one exchanges amicable letters over time but whom one never or rarely meets. From pen (instrument for writing) + friend. First attested in 1923. Unlike "pen pal" (which suggests a casual, often juvenile exchange) or "correspondent" (a formal, functionally specific role), a penfriend implies a chosen, cultivated intimacy sustained solely through script. It is the texture of airmail paper, the idiosyncrasy of a foreign stamp, and the patient archaeology of a life revealed in slow, inked installments—a testament to the architecture of a relationship built entirely from words and waiting.
Etymology
From pen + friend.
noun
- A person, often in a foreign country, with whom one exchanges friendly correspondence but whom one never or rarely meets.e.g.“I would like a penfriend, not for financial support or headgames, but just for a caring conversation.” — 1988 May 7, Jeff Hershberger, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 13:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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