To act as a friend to someone; to develop a friendly relationship with someone.
From 'be-' (a prefix meaning to make or become) plus 'friend' (from Old English 'frēond'). The verb form emerged in the 1500s as a way to describe actively cultivating friendship.
When you 'befriend' someone, you're literally making them into a friend through deliberate action—the 'be-' prefix is active and purposeful, like you're transforming them from a stranger into a friend.
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