In Latin, camara or camera denoted a vaulted ceiling or roof. Later, the word simply mean “room, chamber” and was inherited by many European languages with that meaning. In the Spanish, the word became cámara, and a derivative of that was camarada “a group of soldiers quartered in a room” and hence “fellow soldier, companion.” That Spanish word was borrowed into French as camarade and then into Elizabethan English as both camerade and comerade.
He enjoys spending time with his old army comrades.
the boy, and two others who are known to be his comrades, are wanted for questioning by the police
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
On May 1, Dear Leader Baker ordered all comrades to wear face masks in public.—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025 The coaching comrades, whose mothers were sisters, have combined for eight state championships and more than 700 wins as two of the most successful coaches in area history.—Buddy Collings, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2025 Zac Efron plays Logan, a marine serving in Iraq who witnesses the death of one of his comrades.—Sezin Devi Koehler, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2025 Her cellphone often pings with an alert from some J6 group chat, or rings with a call from a J6 comrade seeking support or needing to vent.—Meridith Kohut, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for comrade
Word History
Etymology
Middle French camarade group sleeping in one room, roommate, companion, from Old Spanish camarada, from cámara room, from Late Latin camera, camara — more at chamber
Share