From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfriarfri‧ar /ˈfraɪə $ -ər/ noun [countable] RRCa member of a religious group of Catholic men, who travelled around in the past teaching about Christianity and who were very poor → monk
Examples from the Corpus
friar• The clever friar would sift one fact from another.• Perhaps the incident most often recorded of this holy friar is the vision which was accorded him while praying before a crucifix.• Athelstan and Cranston followed him, the friar fascinated by the man's swaying walk.• The friar could have sworn that Sir John was singing a hymn or a song under his breath.• The friar looked sideways at Cranston and quietly groaned.• The friar took a deep breath and sighed.• The friar walked back up to the Poultry and knocked on the coroner's door.• The friar was up just before dawn and celebrated his Mass, Bonaventure and Benedicta being his only congregation.Origin friar (1200-1300) Old French frere “brother”, from Latin frater 