A form of address for a friar, a member of a mendicant order who takes vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and lives on alms, usually in a convent. It comes from the Latin frater, brother. The Franciscans, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1210, and the Dominicans, from 1216, are the great mendicant orders. It is used only before a first name: Friar John.
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