pen paln.
/ˈpɛn pal/, U.S. /ˈpɛn ˌpæl/ Originally U.S.
A penfriend.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > [noun] > correspondent > pen-friend
penfriend1923
pen pal1925
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > penfriend
penfriend1923
pen pal1925
1925 Bradford (Pa.) Era 24 Feb. (Daily Mag. Page) 11/1 A friend of mine gave him my name and address with others because he was looking for ‘pen-pals’.
1931 Lincoln (Nebraska) Sunday Star 14 June c8/1 Dear Pen Pals: Well, here we are knee-deep in June.
1941 J. C. Furnas How Amer. Lives 272 Pen-pals are not the only piece of news for the writer in the Kriebel boys' mail.
1967 Boston Herald 1 Apr. 22/6 The children at the Dedham Country Day School are pen pals of children in Dedham, England..and a few have even visited families over there.
1995 Mother & Baby June 141/1 I enjoy reading, cross-stitch and writing letters to penpals worldwide.
Derivatives
ˈpenpalmanship n. rare
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friendship > relationship between penfriends
penfriendship1909
penpalship1960
penpalmanship1966
1966 Guardian 9 June 8/1 The affair was carried on entirely by correspondence... Their penpalmanship had already begun.
1986 Washington Post (Nexis) 21 June d12 Virginia was too bashful to talk about the penpalmanship. But..both women have promised to keep the correspondence alive.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1925