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Get Friendly With the Definition of Compadre
In Spanish, a child’s father and godfather are, to each other, “compadres”—that is, “co-fathers”—but in English the word refers simply to a close friend. Like amigo, Spanish compadre is a masculine term; the equivalent feminine term is comadre. The earliest known evidence of compadre in English use comes from an 1834 book by Albert Pike, in which both compadre and comadre appear. Comadre makes occasional appearances in English contexts, but it has yet to become established sufficiently in the language to join its compadre in our dictionaries.
Examples of compadre in a Sentence
New Atlas, 16 Mar. 2025
One of their compadres (Ron Palais) is spiraling toward suicide after erroneously sending a pornographic selfie to his boss; the race is on to hack or snag the receiving smartphone before daybreak.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 Mar. 2025
Think of us as your compadres on this journey to making the film.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2025
In this crowd, Harris was more of a distant political figure than a hometown compadre.
—Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for compadre
Cite this Entry
“Compadre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compadre. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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compadre
noun
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