Editing False friend (section)

====In native words====
The word ''friend'' itself has cognates in the other Germanic languages, but the Scandinavian ones (like [[Swedish language|Swedish]] {{Lang|sv|frände}}, [[Danish language|Danish]] {{Lang|da|frænde}}) predominantly mean 'relative'. The original [[Proto-Germanic]] word meant simply 'someone whom one cares for' and could therefore refer to both a friend and a relative, but it lost various degrees of the 'friend' sense in the Scandinavian languages, while it mostly lost the sense of 'relative' in English (the plural ''friends'' is still, rarely, used for "kinsfolk", as in the Scottish proverb ''Friends agree best at a distance'', quoted in 1721).

The [[Estonian language|Estonian]] and [[Finnish language]]s are related, which gives rise to false friends such as swapped forms for south and south-west:<ref name="Knospe-2016"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Estonian !! Finnish !! English
|-
| {{Lang|et|[[wikt:lõuna|lõuna]]}}|| {{Lang|fi|[[wikt:etelä|etelä]]}}|| south
|-
| {{Lang|et|[[wikt:edel|edel]]}}|| {{Lang|fi|[[wikt:lounas|lounas]]}}|| south-west
|}

Or Estonian {{Lang|et|vaim}} ('spirit' or 'ghost') and Finnish {{Lang|fi|vaimo}} ('wife');<ref name=Korpela-2014 /> or Estonian {{Lang|et|koristaja}} ('a cleaner') and Finnish {{Lang|fi|koristaja}} ('a decorator').

A high level of lexical similarity exists between German and [[Dutch language|Dutch]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://languagetsar.com/how-similar-or-different-are-german-and-dutch/ |title=German and Dutch: similar or different? |date=2016-11-17 |work=Language Tsar |access-date=2018-02-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> but shifts in meaning of words with a shared etymology have in some instances resulted in 'bi-directional false friends':<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uitmuntend.de/extras/valse_vrienden.html |title=''valse vrienden – Falsche Freunde'' |website=uitmuntend.de |language=nl,de |access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nubeterduits.nl/website/index.php?pag=132 |title=''dürfen / müssen / sollen / mögen'' |website=nubeterduits.nl |language=nl |access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!German
!Dutch
!English
|-
|{{Lang|de|der See}}
|''meer''
|mere 'lake'
|-
|{{Lang|de|Meer}}
|{{Lang|nl|zee}}
|sea
|}
Note that ''die See'' means 'sea', and thus is not a false friend.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!German
!Dutch
!English
|-
|{{Lang|de|mögen}}
|{{Lang|nl|houden van}}
|like, love
|-
|{{Lang|de|dürfen}}
|{{Lang|nl|mogen}}
|be allowed to
|-
|{{Lang|de|wagen}}
|{{Lang|nl|durven}}
|dare
|}

The meanings could diverge significantly. For example, the [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language|Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] word {{Lang|poz|*qayam}} ('domesticated animal') became specialized in descendant languages: [[Malay language|Malay]]/[[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] {{Lang|ms|ayam}} ('chicken'), [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]] {{Lang|ceb|ayam}} ('dog'), and [[Gaddang language|Gaddang]] {{Lang|gad|ayam}} ('pig').<ref name=trussel>[https://www.trussel2.com/ACD/acd-s_q.htm#27688 Austronesian Comparative Dictionary]</ref>