A bosom friend is someone to lean on
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Which very old term for 鈥渇riend鈥 has seen its popularity skyrocket in recent years? Which one is rarely used anymore because it once seemed just a little too ... French? And which is no longer even recognizable as a word that once named a kind of friendship?聽
In recent decades, bosom buddy has seen a large increase on Google鈥檚 Ngram Viewer, which tracks how often words are used in Google鈥檚 corpus of digitized books. Much of this interest stems from a meaning bosom acquired only in the 1960s: a woman鈥檚 breasts. Writers found the new opportunities for punning irresistible; 鈥淏osom Buddies鈥 was a 1980s sitcom about two men who dressed as women, for example.聽
Before it was 鈥渂reasts,鈥 bosom meant 鈥渃hest鈥 more generally, and had strong biblical echoes. Early translations of the Bible describe Christ Jesus as 鈥渋n the bosom of the Father鈥 (John 1:18; King James Version), for example, meaning that he is 鈥渃lose to the Father鈥檚 heart鈥 (New Revised Standard Version), a metaphor that perhaps makes more sense to modern readers. John also describes the disciple 鈥渨hom Jesus loved鈥 as 鈥渓eaning on Jesus鈥 bosom鈥 during the Last Supper (John 13:23, KJV). In the Roman era, eating did not involve sitting upright in a chair around a table. Rather, people half-reclined on benches, and good friends would lean on each other. 聽
It is easy to see, then, how bosom friend came to be associated with close, intimate affection. Buddy, originally Caribbean slang for 鈥渂rother,鈥 took the place of 鈥渇riend鈥 at the turn of the 20th century, probably because of the catchy alliteration. But children today still read about Anne鈥檚 desire for a 鈥渂osom friend鈥 in 鈥淎nne of Green Gables.鈥澛
Boon companion, another term for 鈥渃lose friend,鈥 did not fare as well. 鈥淏oon鈥 was borrowed directly from bon, the French word for 鈥済ood,鈥 in the 14th century, and was used as a synonym for it until the 17th century. The Oxford English Dictionary relates that 鈥渁fter 1600 it seems to have been consciously recognized as French, and gradually dropped.鈥 All that鈥檚 left of this meaning of boon in English is a sporadic boon companion. (Boon as in 鈥渂enefit鈥 is unrelated.)
Gossip is unrecognizable as a word for 鈥渇riend鈥 today. During the Renaissance it referred to female friends, and like many once-neutral or positive words for women (hussy, wench), it acquired a negative meaning. It began as an Old English word for 鈥済odparent,鈥 God plus sib (鈥渃losely related鈥). One鈥檚 godsibs were about as close as anyone could be without being actual siblings. By the 16th century, it had come to refer to a woman鈥檚 closest friends, who would support her during childbirth. Their conversations were stereotyped to involve idle chatter, hence the meaning of gossip today.