Friar Minor

English Friars Minor Etymology A calque of en la-med Fratres Minores the Lesser Brothers, both directly and via en fro freres meneurs and en nrf freres menures, a name supposedly chosen by Francis of Assisi StFrancis to inculcate humility. Noun Friars Minor s Friar Minor en Catholicism en Franciscan: a member of the Order of the Friars Minor. 1410, "John Mandeville", Travels (Titus C.xvi), p. 188: So þere weren with vs ij worthi men, Frere Menoures 1952, Beryl Smalley, Study of Bible in Middle Ages, p. 264: The Friars Preacher opened their studium generale at St. Jacques, Paris, in 1229, the Friars Minor theirs in 1231. Usage notes The word Minor is now usually treated as a postmodifier, causing the plural ending en -s to be added to Friar. Some speakers have treated the name as a compound of two nouns for the entirety of its use in English, however, using the plural form en Friar Minors instead. Early on, others followed Latin and French practice and pluralized both words as Friars Minors, although that form is now obsolete in English. Coordinate terms en Sister Minor References minor n. and adj 118931 2022 en terms calqued from Medieval Latin nouns with irregular plurals en People Monasticism Male people en terms where the adjective follows the noun