
In order to determine the meaning of the term camaraderie, it is necessary to first know its etymological origin. In this case we can establish that it is a word that derives from the Latin “chamber”, which was synonymous with “vaulted room”. A word that, in turn, comes from the Greek “kamara”, which had the same meaning.
According to DigoPaul, camaraderie is known as the friendly or respectful bond that people with common interests or affections forge. Those who develop these kinds of relationships are comrades. For example: “Tomorrow there will be a camaraderie meeting of local footballers”, “I really like the camaraderie that exists between the employees of the company”, “The school has the obligation to foster camaraderie”.
The etymology of comrade is associated with a chamber: comrades were those who slept in the same room or chamber. The close bond they forged, in this way, became known as camaraderie.
The idea of camaraderie can be linked to companionship. When two or more individuals are comrades, they are united by a job, a militancy or another reason. The camaraderie implies that between these subjects there is solidarity, affection and sympathy.
In addition to all the above, it is interesting to know that the origin of the camaraderie is considered, according to some studies, in the famous Thirds of Flanders. And it is believed that precisely that camaraderie that existed among the members of those armies was not only not found in other armies but was precisely their main value.
That feeling of being comrades makes them so united and cohesive that they behaved as one. And we already know that “unity is strength.”
It is established that the aforementioned camaraderie began by forming between the eight or ten men who lived and shared the same chamber or comrade. In that each one performed a function for the benefit of all. Thus, there was the one who was looking for firewood, the one who made the fire, the one who was in charge of cooking, the one who was in charge of acting as treasurer…
Starting from all that, then what was called “making the room” was created, which consisted of those men who shared a room swearing to take care of themselves and protect themselves as if they were brothers. And that was then extrapolated to what the battlefield was.
The concept of camaraderie, however, is often used in certain specific areas. In everyday life, it is more common for people to use terms such as friendship or fraternity to refer to these links.
Members of a union, members of a political party, and members of a security force are often called comrades. In these contexts it is common to speak of camaraderie, or at least it is more frequent than in colloquial language.
The Bolsheviks, to cite a historical case, promoted the treatment of “comrade” to equalize the people. Either the officials or any member of the party was called by this appellation, avoiding other terms that marked a distance, such as “sir. “