In Latin, camara or camera denoted a vaulted ceiling or roof. Later, the word simply mean “room, chamber” and was inherited by many European languages with that meaning. In the Spanish, the word became cámara, and a derivative of that was camarada “a group of soldiers quartered in a room” and hence “fellow soldier, companion.” That Spanish word was borrowed into French as camarade and then into Elizabethan English as both camerade and comerade.
He enjoys spending time with his old army comrades.
the boy, and two others who are known to be his comrades, are wanted for questioning by the police
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Selfless sacrifice in order to stay with his comrades, stay with his unit until the very end.—Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026 The news division’s president and Beale’s old comrade-in-broadcasting-arms, Max Schumacher (William Holden), takes his friend out for a drink.—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2026 More recently, volunteer Alpini have aided active service comrades in national emergencies, including avalanches and the Covid-19 pandemic.—New York Times, 20 Feb. 2026 Villagrán conducted research on Chilean Air Force officers and non-commissioned officers who were tortured by their own comrades for refusing to participate in the coup.—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for comrade
Word History
Etymology
Middle French camarade group sleeping in one room, roommate, companion, from Old Spanish camarada, from cámara room, from Late Latin camera, camara — more at chamber