Google Translate defines this French word as "friend" or "comrade." Copains goes much deeper than that.
Copains also means "companion." 'Companion derives from Middle English and Anglo-French from Late Latin companio. The com- in companion means "with." The second part comes from panis, the Latin word for bread or food. And in that root one sees the basis on which the notion of companionship originally hinged: a companion was someone with whom you shared a meal.
Today we attended the well-attended funeral mass for our departed friend. The Eucharist, the body of Christ, was our last meal with him. "This is the Lamb of God. Happy are those who are called to his supper." During Communion, the cantor sang "Panis Angelicus," The Bread of Angels, a beautiful prayer to go along with this holy meal.
Panis angelicus May the Bread of Angels
Fit panis hominum Become bread for mankind;
Dat panis coelicus The Bread of Heaven puts
Figuris terminum All foreshadowings to an end;
O res mirabilis Oh, thing miraculous!
Manducat dominum The body of the Lord will nourish
Pauper, pauper the poor, the poor,
Servus et humilis the servile, and the humble.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/history-of-word-companion
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