Friends in search of common ground

It is rare, the day that you pass without some minor misunderstanding based on different uses of the same word. To some, the word "stupid" means "not smart". To others it might mean (slangish) "Lots of" as in "He's got stupid money!"

I have found, of late, that the term "Friend" has a similar problem. My exposure to the word, up until recent years, has been in reference to a person who you can call if you need a ride to the airport, maybe go out for drinks or, as long as you don't do this too often, ask if you can sleep on their couch.

There are modifiers that can subdivide or extend this group, such as "Fair weather friend" or "True friend"; but, "Friend" hasn't been a very strong guarantee of "support."

Enter the new definition.

I have met some people in the last couple of years that have so changed my life, so opened my eyes to new meanings of friendship that I am at a bit of a loss to reconcile the disparate meanings of the word. This new meaning seems to take "True friend" and places it in the middle of the scale. I had heard them use the word "friend" before and it seemed to have a different taste to it, a richer taste, a more flavorful bouquet. It was only when looking for some more words on a continuum that we came to see the disparity of our meanings of the word.