epithet requests - Is there a word for someone who you've not physically met but know well?


I have met many people online, but not physically. Like a boy who's like my brother. They're no less than my real-life buddies. So I have to create a group of contacts devoted to those people only. What can I name that group? Virtual people would be geeky, I need something that's also respectable.



Answer



Before the Internet was born, people used to communicate with other people in other places by writing physical letters, mainly for exchanging languages, but also for other purposes, like sharing mutual interests, mating, etc. They'd have their contact details on the related magazines so that the others would've been able to contact them.


That was called a pen friend, or less formally, a pen pal. The alternative spelling for them are penfriend and penpal, without that space in between.


You can check the definitions and articles about these terms on LDOCE and Wikipedia.


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