Pal

Pal

Noun / Verb · /pæl/

Definition

(Noun) a close friend; a companion — informal and affectionate. (Verb) to pal around or pal up: to become friends with; to spend time together as friends. Also used as a direct address, often with a slightly challenging or sarcastic edge in British English.

Origin

From Romani pal (brother, friend) — itself from Sanskrit bhrātṛ (brother), via Romani phonological development: bhrātṛ → bhrāl → phral → pal. The word entering English slang from the Romani community in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Romani speakers lived alongside the settled English population and a significant amount of vocabulary exchange occurred. Pal being one of a cluster of Romani words that entered English informal speech — alongside words like mush (man), kushty (good), and dik (look).