Meaning
A friend — but the sense stretches beyond the plain English word. Depending on context, 'fren' can mean a close companion, a mere casual acquaintance, or, pointedly, a romantic or sexual partner one is not formally committed to, so that 'him a mi fren' may name a real friend or a lover on easy terms. This last, looser sense makes the word a familiar piece of the frank Jamaican talk of relationships, where a 'fren' is not always only a friend, and tone and context tell which is meant.
Examples
-
Him a mi good fren from wi likkle.
He is my good friend from when we were little.
'from wi likkle' means since childhood.
-
She have a fren but dem nuh serious.
She has a partner but they are not serious.
Here 'fren' implies a romantic interest short of a committed relationship.
-
Mi cyaan badda wid nuh fren-enemy.
I cannot bother with any fake friend.
'fren-enemy' describes someone who pretends friendship; 'cyaan badda' means cannot be bothered.
Origin
From English 'friend', with the final consonant cluster reduced, a regular feature of Patois phonology where '-nd' simplifies to '-n'.
How it’s used
Everyday and universal. The romantic meaning is understood from context; misreading it can cause confusion for non-speakers. To pluralise say 'fren dem'.