▪ I. fellow, n.
(ˈfɛləʊ)
Forms: 1 féolaᵹa, 3–4 felaȝe, felau, (3 felawȝe, fe-, feolah(e, feolawe, 4 felauh, south. velaȝe, 5 felay, -loy, -loȝe), 3–5 felagh(e, (3 south. velaghe), 3– 5 fala, 4–5 fela, 3–6 felaw(e, 4–6 felow(e, (5–6 fel(l)o, 7 feloe), 6–7 fellowe, 6– fellow. Also Sc. 4–9 fallow, (5 fallowe, 6 falow); and in renderings of dialectal and vulgar speech, 9 fally, felly, fellaw, feller.
[Late OE. féolaᵹa wk. masc., a. ON. félage, f. fé = OE. feoh property, money (fee n.1) + lag- (in ON. leggja, OE. lęcᵹan:—OTeut. *lagjan) to lay. The primary sense is ‘one who lays down money in a joint undertaking with others’; the related ON. félag str. neut. is ‘a laying together of money’, a business partnership, hence a partnership or society generally. Cf. Da. fælle comrade, also fælles (:—ON. félags, gen. of félag) common.]
I. As simple n.
† 1. a. One who shares with another in a possession, official dignity, or in the performance of any work; a partner, colleague, co-worker. Also, one united with another in a covenant for common ends; an ally. Obs.
| 1016 O.E. Chron. (Cott. Tib. B iv), Beᵹen þa cyningas [Eadmund and Cnut]..wurdon feolaᵹan & wedbroðra..& feng þa Eadmund cyng to West Sexan & Cnut to þam norðdæle. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1761 Min mog, min neue, and felaȝe. a 1300 Cursor M. 7648 (Cott.) Ionathas, To dauid tru felau..was. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 30 Y alderman & his felas. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 153/2 Fela, or felow yn offyce, collega. c 1466 Sir J. Paston in Lett. No. 566 II. 295, I wolde nat that myn oncle William scholde cawse hym to take on hym as hys felawe. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices i. (1540) 65 Pericles..had a felowe in offyce in his Mayraltie. 1546 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 226 Item, to Peter the sawyer and his felowe, for sawyng the tables. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 177 Friends and fellowes of the Romans. 1626 Bacon Sylva §294 Time and Heat are Fellows in many Effects. |
† b. In a bad sense: An accomplice.
Obs. exc. as contextual use of 2.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 18416 (Trin.) Iewes me honged ihesu bi syde Me & my felowe. 1382 Wyclif Isa. i. 23 Thi princes..felawes of theues. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 154/1 Felowys, y-knytte to-gedyr in wykydnesse, complices. c 1500 Nut-Brown Maid 134 It were a curssed dede; To be felow with an out-lawe. a 1533 Frith Disput. Purgatorye D iij, The bodye was felowe & pertener with the soule in commyttynge the cryme. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 911/1 We thinke we are quit and innocent, if wee bee able to say, wee are not the first, and wee haue a great sort of fellowes. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxi, Rothsay and his fellows..were in the street in mask. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 116 His fellows rescued him and beat the hangman. |
† c. A partaker, sharer
of.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. vi. 10 A frend, felawe of the bord [1388 felowe of table]. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 895 Thisbe, I wol be felawe & cause eek of thy deeth. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 49 Þis is..to wylen to mak God felow of þis violence. 1545 Primer Hen. VIII (1546) 68 Felow of Thy Fathers light. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. ii. 39 Behold me, A Fellow of the Royall Bed. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 606 The fellows of his crime. |
2. a. In vaguer use: One that is associated with another in habitual or temporary companionship; a companion, associate, comrade. Now
rare exc. in
pl., or with
const. in.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 139 He lið fram alle hise felawȝes. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4888 Þemperour & he..felawes hade beene. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 397 Austyn com..wiþ fourty felawes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 154/1 Felow yn walkynge by þe way, comes. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 163 b, Pryuate prayer that they saye by themselfe, or with a felowe. 1611 Bible Jonah i. 7 They said euery one to his fellow; Come, and let vs cast lots. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 32 Felicitas with her seven Sons, were..fellowes in martyrdome. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. iv. 8 Brave men, their fellows in arms. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 64 They, being separated from their fellows, were obliged to fly. 1797 Lamb Lett. (1888) I. 75 A friend should never be reduced to beg an alms of his fellow. 1874 Morley Compromise (1885) 111 The little circle of his fellows which constitutes the world of a man. |
| Proverb. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. ii. Wks. (Rtldg.) 82/1 Ask my fellow if I be a thief. 1610 A. Cooke Pope Joan in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) IV. 40. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 201. |
† b. Less frequently said of women.
Obs.| c 1330 Florice & Bl. 509 (1857) Clarice..said to Blaunche⁓flour Felawe knouestou thou ought this flour. c 1340 Cursor M. 8607 (Fairf.) To hir felaw ho putt þat barne Þat hir-self had for-farne. 14.. Prose Legends in Anglia VIII. 194 She wente wiþ confessours hir felowes, þat were wymen. 1598 Yong Diana 301 The Nymphes our fellowes. 1611 Bible Judg. xi. 37 She said..Let me alone two moneths, that I may goe vp and downe vpon the mountaines..I, and my fellowes [1885 (Revised) companions]. |
† c. fig.| a 1300 Cursor M. 29051 (Cott.) Fasting agh..To haf foluand þir four felaus, Fredom, gladdeschipe, houe, and time. c 1320 Cast. Love 508 Wysdam is not worth an hawe But Pes therwyth be felawe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4842 Who so frend is & felow to þat foule vise. 1548 Hall Chron. 8 Good hope..is the best felowe and companion. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 12 Order is a jolly felowe. |
† d. of animals.
Obs.| c 1300 St. Brandan 213 The fowel..to his felawes wende. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1702 A kenet kryes þerof, þe hunt on hym calles, His felaȝes fallen hym to. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 161 Those..eate up either their owne Egges or their fellowes. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccxxx, A Certain Shepherd had One Favourite Dog..and took more Care of him..then of any of his Fellows. |
e. of things.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 553 In delues breef this cannes eyon doo, And iche half a foote his felawe froo. 1697 Dryden Virgil Postcript, If the last Þneid shine amongst its fellows. 1725 Pope Odyss. iii. 383 Five tall barks the winds and waters tost Far from their fellows. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 201 A height of less elevation than some of its fellows. |
3. a. good fellow or
jolly fellow: an agreeable or pleasant companion; usually, one who is fond of feasting and good company, a convivialist;
= ‘boon companion’;
spec. of a woman. In
pl. a set of jolly or sociable companions.
† to be playing the good fellow: to be enjoying oneself in gay company.
| c 1305 Pilate 34 in E.E.P. (1862) 112 For þat on was god and þat oþer schrewe: gode felawes neuere hi nere. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 395 He was a good felawe. c 1450 Merlin 318 Thei wente to sitte doune alle v togeder as goode felowes and trewe. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xiii. 6 He shal be a good felowe with thee. 1570 Buchanan Ane Admonitioun Wks. (1892) 24 Ministeris gettis all and leavis na thing to gude fallowis. 1640 Bastwick Lord Bps. vii. G b, They fill themselves with strong drinke, and are good Fellows. 1667 Pepys Diary 14 Oct., I suppose he is playing the good fellow in the town. 1813 L. Hunt in Examiner 15 Feb. 98/2 A Raic..we should interpret by the phrase Jolly Fellow. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxvi. 298 Nay, he [sc. Mr. Swiveller] would sometimes reward her [sc. Miss Brass] with a hearty slap on the back, and protest that she was a devilish good fellow. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. Wks. (Bohn) III. 2 Good fellows, fond of dancing, port, and clubs. 1876 A. Trollope Prime Minister II. xvii. 281 There was a feeling abroad that ‘Glencora’ was a ‘good sort of fellow’ and ought to be supported. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 62 Sick of clubs and jolly fellows. 1928 E. A. Robertson Cullum x. 185 ‘My darling fellow,’ started one [letter], ‘That's the only title I can find with which to pay homage to your male companionableness... You are the only woman I've ever known who will argue..on an abstract question.’ 1942 P. Abrahams Dark Testament II. iii. 111 He's lucky and you're a fine fellow. You girls were right to call each other ‘fellow’. |
† b. good fellow: a docile, manageable or tractable person or thing.
Obs.| 1576 Turberv. Venerie 101 When..you perceyve she beginnes to bee muche better fellowe..and that shee seemeth to beginne to be reclaymed. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 31 The Oate is not daungerous in the choyse of his grounde, but groweth lyke a good fellowe in euery place. Ibid. iii. 128 Whiche wyll make him [a steere] in three dayes, as good a fellowe as you woulde wishe him to be. 1639 Lady Denton in Verney Papers (1853) 274 The childe was feloe good a nofe in my house. |
c. fellow well-met: a boon companion.
to be (hail) fellow well met: to be on terms of free and easy companionship
with (a person).
| 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 171 Being as you say haile fellow well met with his servant. 1858 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. I. xxxvi. 137 The High Church Tory..offers..to be fellow well met with any of them. 1885 W. J. Fitzpatrick Life of T. N. Burke I. 308 The best fellow-well-met in the world. |
4. The complementary individual of a pair; the mate, ‘marrow’.
a. Of a person: The consort, spouse, husband or wife. Also of animals. Now
colloq. and
dial.| a 1300 Cursor M. 9405 (Cott.) He wroght a felau of his ban Till adam. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 6 Eve, my felow, how thynk the this? 1538 in Pitcairn Crim. Trials Scot. I. 251* His [the King's] derrest fallow the Quene. a 1592 H. Smith Serm. (1631) 16 It is good for man to haue a fellow. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 224 When they be but heifers of one yeare..they are let go to the fellow and breed. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 84, I am your wife, if you will marrie me..to be your fellow, You may denie me; but I'll be your seruant. 1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 39 It's fer my feller's carryin-out. It is for my husband's packed lunch. |
b. That which makes a pair with something else: a counterpart, match.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. viii. 42 Giue me thy Gloue Souldier; Looke, heere is the fellow of it. 1623 Sir R. Boyle Diary (1886) II. 85, I gaue Sir W{supm} parsons Lady a fair bay coach gelding and am to send her a fellow to him. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 86 ¶6 In..such Cases the Soul and the Body do not seem to be Fellows. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. iii. 53 Two shoes that were not fellows. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxi. 430, I ran..throwing off first one mitten and then its fellow to avoid pursuit. 1874 Carpenter Ment. Phys. i. ii. §68 While one leg was convulsed, its fellow remained quiet. |
c. That which matches or resembles another; the like.
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. iii. 68 Macb. 'Twas a rough Night. Len. My young remembrance cannot paralell A fellow to it. 1668 R. L'Estrange Vis. Quev. (1708) 310 So terrible an Uproar, and Disorder in Hell, that..the oldest Devil never knew the Fellow of it. 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. xxix. 46 Four other shifts, one the fellow to that I have on. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 240 His march must..have been the fellow of the great march which carried Harold from London to Stamfordbridge. 1884 J. Payne 1001 Nights IX. 101 The watch, whose fashion also is of my own invention, nor is there the fellow of it in Bassora. |
d. quasi-adj. An equivalent
to: a match with.
| 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. i, Had his estate beene fellow to his mind. ? 1674 Lady Chaworth in Hist. MSS. Comm. 12th Rep. App. v. 27 A very old perspective almost fellow to that you have. 1858 Bushnell Serm. New Life 33 They..have nothing fellow to God in their substance. |
5. One who shares with another in any attribute; one belonging to the same class:
a. in position or rank: An equal, peer. Now chiefly
pl.| c 1230 Hali Meid. 19 Engles hwas felahes ha beoð. a 1300 Cursor M. 22778 (Cott.) Þir men sal be þan his felaghes. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxi. 21 Proude men þat raises þaim up singulerly & suffers na felaghis. 1456 How Wise Man taught Son 132 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 175 Thy wyfe..Thof sche be servant in degre, In som degre sche felaw ys. 1529 in Fiddes Wolsey ii. (1726) 173 He us'd himself more like a Fellow to your Highness than like a subject. 1580 Godly Admonition in Liturg. Serv. Q. Eliz. (Parker Soc.) 573 Servants are become..fellows with masters. 1600 Fairfax tr. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne i. xii, His fellowes late, shall be his subjects now. 1721–1800 in Bailey. |
b. in ability, qualities or value: A ‘match’.
| 1428 Sc. Act 22 Jas. I, 1 Mar. (Record ed. II. 15/1), Of their rentis, ilk punde sal be vtheris fallowe to the contribution of þe said Costes. c 1450 Holland Howlat 913 So fair is my fetherem I haf no falowe. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (Arb.) 28 In reasonynge, and debatyng of matters..he hadde few fellowes. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 53 Varro..amongest the learned maisters of this schoole hath no fellows. 1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 73 St. Longinus and St. Amphibalus..have not their fellows in the almanack. 1738 Swift Directions to Servants, Feeling has no fellow. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. (1870) I. xii. 57 Mr. Jennings is gone, and Mr. Keypstick will never meet with his fellow. 1892 Nation (N.Y.) 8 Dec. 435/1 The strange poetic nature..has had no fellow unless in Rembrandt. |
c. in kind: One's fellow-man, ‘neighbour’; also of things: Another of the sort.
| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 11 Wyl noon of you do to your felowe otherwyse than ye wolde be don to. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xvii. 87 Irrational creatures..as long as they be at ease..are not offended with their fellowes. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 62 Some spot..Where my worn soul.. May gather bliss to see my fellows blest. 1818 Byron Mazeppa iii, Danger levels man and brute, And all are fellows in their need. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. viii. 241 There was no acknowledged legal right in churl..to make open war upon his fellow. |
d. A contemporary. Chiefly
pl.| 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §7. 425 Shakspere had now passed far beyond his fellows. 1886 Swinburne Middleton in 19th Cent. Jan. 138 Fellows and followers of Shakespeare. |
6. One of a company or party whose interests are common; a member.
| c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 191 Men woln us foles calle, Bathe the wardeyn, and eek our felaws alle. c 1450 Merlin 171 A felowe of the rounde table. c 1450 Robin Hoode & Monk lxxx. in Child Ballads (1888) v. cxix. 100/2, ‘I make þe maister’, seid Robyn Hode..‘Nay..lat me be a felow’, seid Litull John. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. v. 22 He recorded their resons heeryng alle the felawys. 1547–64 Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 120 One vicious fellow destroyeth a whole companie. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §27 B, The generall societie of goodes..extendeth to all thinges of the partners or fellowes. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxii. 32 Sisters, Hesper a fellow of our bright company. |
7. In college and university use:
a. orig. The name (corresponding to the Latin
socius) given to the incorporated members of a college or collegiate foundation (whether in a University or otherwise: see
college 4); one of the company or corporation who, with their head, constitute a ‘college’;
e.g. ‘the Provost and Fellows of Chelsea College, of Eton College, or King's College, Cambridge’; ‘the Warden and Fellows of All Souls, Oxford’.
In colleges chiefly devoted to the purposes of study and education, the Fellows were, in early usage, often included under the term
scholars; the latter term is, in later use, mostly restricted to junior members of the foundation, who are still under tuition, the term
fellow being applied to the Senior Scholars, who have graduated, or otherwise passed out of the stage of tutelage. In those colleges that have become educational institutions, undertaking the school or university teaching of youths not on the foundation, the Fellows consist of those graduate members who have been co-opted upon the foundation with emoluments from its corporate revenue, and who constitute with their Head (usually elected by themselves from their own number) the governing body of the institution. Most colleges of this class have now also
Honorary Fellows, who receive no emoluments, and have no share in the government. When a distinguished scholar vacates a fellowship, he or she is often elected an honorary fellow.
| c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. xviii. 401 That the maister and the felawis kepe the statutis of the collegis. 1511–2 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 22 §5 Any..persone being fellowe or scoler of any of the said Colleges. 1644 Hunton Vind. Treat. Monarchy v. 41 In the Colledges, the Fellowes have an effectuall, and more then morall limiting Power. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 17 Thomas Lynacre..was chosen Fellow of Allsouls Coll. in 1484. a 1704 T. Brown Table Talk in Coll. of Poems 124 Nothing is so Imperious, as a Fellow of a Colledge upon his own Dunghil. 1843 Coleridge in Stanley Arnold's Life & Corr. (1844) I. i. 9 Twenty fellows and twenty scholars, with four exhibitioners, form the foundation [of Corpus]. 1886 Laurie Lect. Rise Univ. xiii. 247 It was thus a college composed solely of ‘Fellows’. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 24 Nov. 10/1 A lady ‘research’ Fellow already exists in Wales. 1921 Oxf. Univ. Cal., Somerville College... Lady Carlisle Fellow. 1971 Ibid. 275 A supplemental charter and new statutes were granted by which the Principal and Fellows [of St. Hilda's College] became the Governing Body. |
b. On the analogy of the preceding use, the designation ‘Fellows’ is now applied, in some universities, to the holders of certain stipendiary positions (called ‘Fellowships’) tenable by elected graduates for a limited number of years, on condition of pursuing some specified branch of study.
The Radcliffe and the Craven Travelling Fellowships are the only examples in the ancient English Universities. Fellowships in this sense have been founded in the Scottish Universities, in the University of Durham and the Victoria University; and in some universities and colleges in the
U.S.| 1888 Histor. Reg. Univ. Oxf. 110 Every Fellow is required to spend at least eight months of each year of his tenure of the [Craven] Fellowship abroad. Ibid. 112 The first two Fellows were elected [to Radcliffe's Travelling Fellowships] in July 1715. 1892–3 Edin. Univ. Cal. 537 Scholars, Bursars, or Fellows must apply to the Convener of the Science Degrees Committee. |
c. In some of the younger British universities and colleges, and in some of those in the
U.S., the ‘Fellows’ are the members of the governing or administrative body; in others the title is merely honorary, conferred as a special distinction on a limited number of graduates.
Cf. sense 8.
| 1837 Charter Univ. Lond., The Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows..shall constitute the Senate of the said University. |
8. a. The title given in various learned societies, either to all their members (as in the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries), or to a specially privileged class among them.
In the case of the Royal Society, the official Latin equivalent is
sodalis.
| 1664 (title), A List of the Fellows of the Royal Society. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 15 ¶2 A Fellow of the Royal Society, who had writ upon Cold Baths. 1801 Med. Jrnl. V. 314 A Fellow, that is, any Member who resides within seven miles of London. 1886 Act 49-50 Vict. c. 48 §6 A fellow of a college of physicians. |
† b. A bencher of an Inn of Court.
Obs.| 1536 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 57 An atturney of the lawe and felowe of Graies Inne. |
† c. Fellow of the (order of the) Garter = Knight of the Order of the Garter.
Obs.| 1475 Bk. Noblesse 46 The full noble knight, a felow of the Garter, ser Johan Chaundos. 1584 D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 397 Chosen to be Fellowe of the order of the Garter. |
9. A familiar synonym for: Man, male person.
(
Cf. companion 5, and F.
compagnon.)
a. with qualifying
adj., as
good,
bad,
brave,
clever,
foolish,
old,
young, etc., and in phrases like
what a fellow, etc. (
Cf. 3, from which this use was
app. a development).
poor fellow: often used exclamatorily as an expression of pity.
stout fellow [
stout a.
and adv. A.
adj. 3].
| c 1440 York Myst. xvii. 31, I hope I haue her felaws fonde. 1549 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 29 Moyses was a wonderful felowe, and dyd his dutie being a maried man. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 280 This our good fellow was not so cunning (belike) as Dionysius was. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 105 Vitruuius an excellent fellowe in building. 1607 Shakes. Timon i. i. 229 Thou hast fegin'd him a worthy Fellow. 1642 Rogers Naaman 108 Precise preachers and zealous fellowes. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 48 ¶4, I am an old Fellow, and extremely troubled with the Gout. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xi. vii, You don't know what a devil of a fellow he is. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) II. 313 A good-natured, sensible fellow. 1811 Combe Devil upon Two Sticks (1817) VI. 40 A most pleasant fellow of a clergyman. 1857 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 330 He looked dreadfully weak still, poor fellow! 1915 Kipling Debits & Credits (1927) 31, I lay behind this stout fellow and saw him well into the open. 1919 J. Buchan Mr Standfast ix. 170 You're going to be a stout fellow and start in two hours' time. And you're going to take me with you. 1922 ― Huntingtower iv. 76 ‘I got inside the House.’ ‘Stout fellow,’ said Heritage. 1970 Guardian 6 Apr. 11/1 The stout fella tradition of never striking against the public interest. |
b. used in familiar address in phrases,
my dear fellow,
my good fellow (the latter now implying a tone of remonstrance or censure),
old fellow.
young fellow-me-(or my-)lad: see
feller2 and
fella.
| 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxii, I'll tell you how it is, my dear fellow. 1926 E. F. Spanner Navigators 36 This young fellow-me-lad seems to have spent ten minutes or so diving in and out among the wreckage. 1929 W. Deeping Roper's Row iv. §1 There were young fellow-my-lads who began to take notice. |
c. In some dialects, and in unceremonious colloquial speech (
esp. among young men), used without
adj. as the ordinary equivalent for ‘man’.
a fellow: often
= ‘one’, ‘anybody’, vaguely indicating the speaker himself.
| 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. ix, They don't deny themselves the pleasure of looking at a fellow as if he were a Turk. 1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & B. xii, The names of the fellows who got bailed up by young Hillyar. |
d. applied by schoolboys to themselves and each other.
(Possibly
orig. a use of sense 6; not now so apprehended.)
| c 1838 in Stanley Arnold I. 157 ‘He calls us fellows’, was the astonished expression of the boys when..they heard him speak of them by the familiar name in use among themselves. 1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. xv, One of our ‘old fellows’, as we used to call those who had left school. Mod. After morning school some of our fellows went for a spin. |
e. jocularly applied to an animal or a thing.
| 1816 Scott Antiq. xxi, The red cock's..been roasting, puir fallow, in this dark hole. 1828 ― F.M. Perth ii, This fellow (laying his hand on his purse)..was somewhat lank and low in condition. |
10. † a. Used as the customary title of address to a servant or other person of humble station.
Obs. In 14th c. it implied polite condescension,
= ‘comrade’, ‘my friend’ (
cf. mod.F.
mon ami similarly used). In Shakespeare's time this notion had disappeared, but the word when addressed to a servant does not seem to have necessarily implied haughtiness or contempt, though its application to one not greatly inferior was a gross insult (
cf. c).
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 275 Þemperour..clepud to him þe couherde & curteysly seide; now telle me, felawe..sei þou euer þemperour? c 1477 Caxton Jason 23 Vaissale or felawe [orig. vassal] thou hast done me now the most grettest dishonour. 15.. King & Hermit 328 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 25 Unto the knave seyd the frere Ffelow, go wyȝtly here. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 103 Thou fellow, a word. Who gaue thee this Letter? 1594 ― Rich. III, iii. ii. 108 Gramercie fellow: there, drinke that for me. |
† b. One of the common people.
Obs.| c 1430 Freemasonry 99 Of lord ny felow, whether he be, Of hem thou take no maner of fe. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour L iv b, Of lordes and of felawes. |
c. contemptuously. A person of no esteem or worth.
| c 1440 York Myst. xxiv. 3 Þis felowe..we with folye fande. 1535 Coverdale Micah ii. 12 A fleshly felowe and a preacher of lyes. c 1570 Sempill Ballates x. (1872) 54 This..fallow of na kin..Begouth to reule. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 325 A paltry Fellow, Long kept in Britaine at our Mothers cost, A Milke-sop. c 1660 South Serm. John vii. 17 Serm. 1715 I. 229 Fellows that set up for Messias's. 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 203 Worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xvii. ii, You..have so disdainfully called him fellow. a 1776 Lizie Wan vii. in Child Ballads ii. li. (1884) 448/2, I see by thy ill colour Some fallow's deed thou hast done. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xiii, This is some vile conspiracy of your own, fellow. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xv, ‘Sir’, said Mr. Tupman, ‘you're a fellow’. 1884 Pae Eustace 68 ‘The fellow's drunk’, ejaculated Randolph. |
d. A Negro.
U.S. Obs.| 1753 in New Jersey Archives (1897) 1st Ser. XIX. 270 Run away..a Mulatto Fellow named Anthony... Whoever takes up said Fellow..shall have Three Pounds Reward. 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3) 144 Fellow or Black Fellow, a black man. Southern. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 11. appositively (
quasi-adj.). Prefixed to
ns., forming an unlimited number of quasi-compounds (in which the use of the hyphen is optional). Equivalent to the earlier
even- Comb. 2, and to
co-,
joint a.
No instances of this use are found in our material earlier than Tindale and Coverdale 1534–5;
felow-bacheler is printed in Gower
Conf. III. 292, but the best
MSS. have
felon or
feloun; Palsgrave 1530 has
felow man,
woman, but here the second word is only added for distinction.
Cf. quot.c 1400 in a.
a. Denoting a person or thing that agrees with another in belonging to the designated class, as in
fellow-angel,
fellow-apostle,
fellow-being,
fellow-bishop,
fellow-Christian,
fellow-fault,
fellow-man,
fellow-planet,
fellow-sinner,
fellow-worm;
fellow-creature.
| 1625 Quarles Fun. Eleg. vii, It sigh'd..To be..enthron'd Among his *fellow Angells. |
| 1647 Sanderson Serm. II. 218 He taught Judas to be so much wiser..than his *fellow⁓apostles. |
| 1810 J. Conder Reverie in Associate Minstrels 9* Can I trust a *fellow-being? 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. iii. 149 A fat philosopher..totally innocent of the death of a fellow-being. |
| [c 1400 Apol. Loll. 59 Bernard seiþ to pope Eugeni, Þi *felawis bischops lere þei at þe to haue, etc.] 1565 Jewel Repl. Harding (1611) 176 The true Councels, which we haue receiued from our holy fellow-bishop Cyrillus of Alexandria. |
| 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. Wks. (1847) 82/2 To proclaim a croisade against his *fellow-christian. 1853 Landor Last Fruit 131 A fellow Christian..enjoying a secret pleasure in saying unpleasant things. |
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 373 Euerie one fault seeming monstrous til his *fellow⁓fault came to match it. |
| 1756 Franklin Let. Wks. 1887 II. 460 These kindnesses from men I can only..return on their *fellow-men. 1813 Byron Giaour 329 On desert sands 'twere joy to scan The rudest steps of fellow man. |
| 1684 T. Burnet Th. Earth I. 194 The earth with the rest of its *fellow-planets. |
| 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. vi. §16 Man..is himself a *fellow-sinner with them. 1860 Hook Lives Abps. (1869) II. ii. 111 We have to labour among our fellow⁓sinners. |
| 1689 C. Mather Mem. Prov. 24 The Devils are seldome able to hurt us..without a Commission from some of our *fellow-worms. 1719 Watts Hymns ii. xlvi, Worms were never rais'd so high Above their meanest fellow-worm. |
b. Denoting a person or (occasionally) a thing that is associated with another in companionship or co-operation in what the
n. implies, as
fellow-boarder,
fellow-captive,
fellow-cause,
fellow-clerk,
fellow-communicant,
fellow-conspirator,
fellow-emigrant,
fellow-guest,
fellow-labourer,
fellow-lodger,
fellow-passenger,
fellow-prisoner,
fellow-student,
fellow-sufferer,
fellow-worker,
fellow-workman. Also
fellow-soldier,
fellow-traveller.
| 1871 Motley Corr. (1889) II. x. 325 He is a *fellow-boarder with your son. |
| a 1569 A. Kingsmill Confl. Satan (1578) 36 Hee is a *fellow-captive with Paul. 1749 Johnson Irene i. i, A galley lies Mann'd with the bravest of our fellow⁓captives. 1821 Byron Juan iv. lxxx, He saw some fellow captives. |
| 1581 W. Clarke in Confer. iv. (1584) Ff iv b, It should bee a *fellowe cause in our iustification with Christes righteousnes. |
| 1886 T. Hopkins 'Twixt Love & Duty xii, He did not grudge a holiday to his *fellow-clerks. |
| 1670 Devout Commun. (1688) 122 Interceding with him for..our *fellow-communicants. |
| 1899 ‘Mark Twain’ Man corrupted Hadl. (1900) 160 He shall deceive his fellow-conspirators. 1936 Discovery Oct. 321/2 All the members of this pact wore a black pin as a sign to fellow-conspirators. |
| 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 534 He..found among his *fellow emigrants men ready to listen to his evil counsels. |
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Comensal, a *fellow guest. 1709 Shaftesbury Moralists ii. §2. 71, I..being so violently decry'd by my two Fellow Guests. |
| 1625 Ussher Answ. Jesuit 31 The word of God..was both by themselves and others of their *fellow-labourers delivered by word of mouth. a 1704 T. Brown Quakers Serm. Wks. 1730 I. 105 Our dear brother and fellow-labourer hath gone a little astray. 1832 Miss Mitford Village Ser. v. (1863) 318 Men..persuading their fellow-labourers to join them at every farm they visited. |
| 1678 Dryden Limberham ii. Wks. (1883) VI. 49 This is Mr. Woodall, your new *fellow-lodger. 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) II. 193 His fellow-lodgers were persons of rank. |
| 1879 Howells L. Aroostook I. vi, One never can know what one's *fellow⁓passengers are going to be. |
| 1611 Bible Rom. xvi. 7 Andronicus and Iunia my kinsmen and my *fellow prisoners. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 61 He thought his two fellow-prisoners might be trusted. 1875 Tennyson Q. Mary i. iv, The two were fellow-prisoners..in yon accursed Tower. |
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 177, I pray thee, doe not mock me, *fellowstudent. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 526 ¶3 Fellow-templars, fellow-students. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxv. 186 A former fellow student. |
| 1687 Dryden Hind & P. i. 563 Her friend and *fellow-suff'rer in the plot. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 182 He..bequeathed most of what he had to his fellow-sufferers. |
| 1611 Bible Col. iv. 11 These..are my *fellowworkers vnto the kingdome of God. 1660 Jer. Taylor Worthy Commun. Introd. 7 Fellow-workers with God in the laboratories of salvation. 1951 R. Firth Elem. Social Organiz. i. 23 According to his fears or his politics, he may interpret this as a symbol of anger or of solidarity among fellow-workers. 1961 New English Bible Philemon 1 From Paul..to Philemon our dear friend and fellow-worker. |
| 1535 Coverdale Acts xix. 25 The *feloweworkmen of the same occupacion. 1646 H. Lawrence Comm. Angells 24 Angells..whom hee vouchsafeth to use as fellow-workemen with himselfe. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 141 He and his fellow-workmen have taught them. |
c. (with
n. of relative signification.) Denoting a person or thing that stands in the designated relation to the same object as another, as in
fellow-burgess,
fellow-burgher,
fellow-disciple,
fellow-member,
fellow-servant,
fellow-townsman,
fellow-tribesman;
† fellow-brother, a member of the same brotherhood;
fellow-collegian,
† -collegiate, a member of the same college;
fellow-craftsman, one of the same craft;
fellow-subject, a subject of the same sovereign. Also
fellow-citizen, -countryman, -heir.
| a 1575 Abp. Parker Corr. 425 To..give some testimony of my *fellow-brothers. 1638 Sanderson Serm. II. 115 We ought..so to behave our selves in the house of God..as becometh fellow-brethren. |
| 1638 Drummond of Hawthornden Irene Wks. (1711) 164 To..wander amongst..his slaughter'd acquaintances and *fellow-burgesses. |
| 1835 W. Irving Tour Prairies xxxii, The atrocious murders of their *fellow⁓burghers. |
| 1791 Boswell Johnson an. 1729, I do not find that he formed any close intimacies with his *fellow-collegians. |
| 1667–9 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 318 He..talks of authors as familiarly as his *fellow-collegiates. 1836 H. Rogers J. Howe vi. (1863) 160 He had been an intimate friend and fellow-collegiate of Stowe's. |
| 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) II. 65 The..youth shrank from the..riotous companionship of his *fellow-craftsmen. |
| 1611 Bible John xi. 16 Then said Thomas..vnto his *fellowe disciples, Let us also go. 1852 H. Rogers Ecl. Faith (1853) 17 [He] has almost battered out the brains of a fellow disciple. |
| 1640 Sanderson Serm. 148 Though they be our *fellow-members, yet have we little fellow-feeling of their griefs. 1863 A. B. Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 48 A divided heart toward some fellow-member. |
| 1534 Tindale Col. iv. 7 Tichicos..which is a..*feloweservaunt in the Lorde. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 105. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 225 Nor less think wee in Heav'n of thee on Earth Than of our fellow servant. 1713 Steele Englishman No. 1. 9 He treats us Senators like his Fellow-Servants. |
| 1648 Symmons Vind. Chas. I 40 His poor people..are most mercilesly butchered..by their *fellow-subjects. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 125 ¶8 We should not..regard our Fellow-Subjects as Whigs or Tories. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. III. xi. 451 That from Rhode Island..claimed..equal rights with their fellow⁓subjects in Great Britain. |
| 1846 Landor Imag. Conv. I. 237/1 Valour in a *fellow-townsman is the exciter of our praise. |
| 1853 Hickie tr. Aristoph. (1872) II. 422 Call your *fellow-tribesmen to your aid. |
| 1867 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel xiii. (1891) 158 His descriptions of the future which was in store for the great bulk of his..*fellow⁓worldsmen. |
d. Sometimes prefixed pleonastically to
ns. which themselves imply companionship or participation. Now
rare.
| 1552 Huloet, Fellow-companion, comes. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. ii. 19, I would bee glad to receiue some instruction from my fellow partner. 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. III Wks. (1711) 47 He had only for his fellow⁓companions astrologers and sooth-sayers. 1760 Sterne Serm. (1773) I. 127 She looked upon him as a fellow-partner. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1883) 63 Seeing in England more of my fellow-compatriots than ever before. |
12. rarely
attrib. with the sense: Equal, befitting an equal.
| 1638 Ford Fancies iv. ii, The great duke..would lift up my head to fellow-pomp amongst his nobles. |
13. Comb. with
vbl. ns., agent-nouns, and
pples., imitating L. words with
co(m-,
con-. Only in a few words originating in 16–17th c., as
† fellow-bordering ppl. a. (
= L.
confinis), conterminous, neighbouring;
fellow-helper (
= L.
coadjutor), one who helps in the way of co-operation;
† fellow-inspired, endowed with a like gift of inspiration;
† fellow-knower (
= L.
conscius n.), one who is privy to (a secret); so
† fellow-knowing ppl. a.;
† fellow-yoked pple., mutually yoked. Also
fellow-feeling.
| a 1628 F. Greville Sidney (1652) 28 [This Emperor]..got credit with his *fellow-bordering Princes. |
| 1535 Coverdale 1 Esdras vii. 1 The other landlordes with their companyons..were *felow helpers with the olde rulers of the Iewes. 1611 Bible 2 Cor. viii. 23 He is my partner and fellow helper. |
| 1685 H. More Illustr. 342 This Angel and John..were *fellow-inspired Souls..both endued with the Spirit of Prophecy. |
| 1662 J. Chandler Van Helmont's Oriat. 103 Not that I am..a *fellow-knower of, or a searcher into divine Counsel. |
| Ibid. 88 The same God might be a conscious or *fellow-knowing revenger..of our sin. |
| 1620 Middleton & Rowley World Tost at Tennis 571 Wks. 1886 VII. 177 I'll not be *fellow-yok'd with death. |
▪ II. fellow, v. (
ˈfɛləʊ)
Forms: 4
felaghe,
south. velaȝe, 4–6
felow, 5
felewe, 6
Sc. fallow, 6–
fellow.
[f. prec. n.] † 1. trans. To conjoin, associate (a person or thing) in partnership or companionship
with,
to (another).
Obs.| a 1340 Hampole Psalter v. 11 Wham swa þai may felaghe wiþ þaim. 1340 Ayenb. 101 Þou him uelaȝest mid þe huanne þou zayst: ‘yef ous’ and ne zayst naȝt ‘yef me’. c 1410 Love Bonavent. Mirr. lvi. (Gibbs MS.) 110 He ioyneþ and feleweþ hym to hem homely. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 146 That..they may..deserue to be felowed to thy chosen. a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commw. Eng. xi. (1589) 13 A man..is..desirous to fellow himselfe to another, and so to liue in couple. 1589 T. L. Advt. Q. Eliz. (1651) 47 Who being fellowed in glory with the highest. 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 96 Blush of scorne fellowd with that of shame. |
b. To put on a level
with; to make, or represent as, an equal or match
to.
| 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 251 O moder of lyfe, whiche by thyne obedience ys mekely felowed vnto vs. 1500–20 Dunbar Thistle & Rose xx, Lat no nettill vyle..Hir fallow to the gudly flour-de-lyce. 1648 Bp. Hall Select Thoughts §100 Who..called every wolf his brother..fellowing him⁓self with every thing that had life. 1884 W. H. Ward in Century Mag. XXVII. 820 It is this quality..which fellows him..with Milton. |
† 2. a. To be a fellow to; to accompany, be associated with.
b. To be a partner or sharer in.
| 1434 Misyn Mending of Life 119 So þat it be not greuus to an [vn]profetabyll seruand to felo his lorde. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boethius 6 Easing thy Labor with felowing of thi paine. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 142 Affection..With what's vnreall thou coactiue art, And fellow'st nothing. 1614 Sylvester Little Bartas 454 All Delights of Earth have ever been Fellow'd or follow'd by some tragick Teen. 1639 Fuller Holy War i. (1647) 8 The conquer'd fellow for the most part the religion of the conquerors. |
3. To produce a fellow to; to equal, match.
| 1656 Heylin Surv. France 74 It will be a palace..not fellowed in Europe. 1716 Cibber Love makes Man iii. iii, It's impossible to fellow it, but in Paris. 1862 Lady Morgan Mem. II. 469, I have at this moment, perfuming my rooms, twelve Hyacinths..fellow me that in your garden! |
† b. To arrange in pairs; to pair.
Obs.| 1654 [see fellowed ppl. a.]. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins xlvi. (1883) 137/2, I here found..so many shoes, as when I had fellowed them, served me as long as I stayed. |
4. nonce-use. To address as ‘fellow’.
| 1752 Fielding Amelia viii. vi, ‘Don't fellow me’. |
Hence
† ˈfellowed ppl. a., joined together in pairs.
| 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 115 He can teach..whether the Kidneyes be fellowed or single, and how many Hearts most Men have. 1698 T. Molyneux in Phil. Trans. XX. 216 Naturally fellow'd in Pairs. 1775 in Ash. |