说起Friend，大多数人的第一反应应该是“朋友”。说到“朋友”，我们会想到志同道合、情意相投的人。但是法律英语中的friend或许和我们平时想象中的不太一样，今天就来一起扩展一下friend的含义。

Next friend 诉讼代理人

英文释义：

In common law, a next friend (Law French prochein ami) is a person who represents another person who is under age, or, because of disability or otherwise, is unable to maintain a suit on his or her own behalf and who does not have a legal guardian. They are also known as litigation friends. When a relative who is next of kin acts as a next friend for a person, that person is sometimes instead described as the "natural guardian" of the person. A next friend has full power over the proceedings in the action as if he or she were an ordinary plaintiff, until a guardian or guardian ad litem is appointed in the case; but the next friend is entitled to present evidence only on the same basis as any other witness.（Wikipedia）

中文释义：

诉讼代理人指代理未成年人或因患精神病而无行为能力人提起诉讼的成年人，但他不是该诉讼的当事人，也未被指定为原告的监护人〔guardian〕。一般为原告的亲属，应对原告的诉讼行为和费用负责。（《元照英美法词典》）

Lady's friend 女士之友

英文释义：

The name of a functioner in the British house of commons. When the husband sues for a divorce, or asks the passage of an act to divorce him from his wife, he is required to make a provision for her before the passage of the act; it is the duty of the lady's friend to see that such a provision is made. Macq. on H. & W. 213.（https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com）

中文释义：

〈英〉(古)英国下议院所设的一种官职，其职责在于保障其丈夫通过议会特别立法而离婚的妻子正当的生活必需。1875年，法律废除了议会离婚制〔parliamentary divorces〕和女士之友的职位。（《元照英美法词典》）

PS：parliamentary divorces

By the late sixteenth century, England stood out as the only Protestant country without some form of legalised divorce. The reasons lay partly in the torturous path by which it moved from the Catholic into the Protestant camp, in disputes among the English Protestants about which new divorce code to adopt, and in the sensitivities towards marriage of Queen Elizabeth. Parliamentary divorces started in the 1690s as a series of individual exceptions to the principle of the indissolubility of marriage. The divorce became a convenient collusive agreement between a rich husband and his wife in order to remarry, the objective being the pursuit of happiness and the replacement of lost marital comfort.

Friend of the court

Friend of the court即amicus curiae <拉>法院之友

英文释义：

one (such as a professional person or organization) that is not a party to a particular litigation but that is permitted by the court to advise it in respect to some matter of law that directly affects the case in question（https://www.merriam-webster.com）

中文释义：

对案件中的疑难法律问题陈述意见并善意提醒法院注意某些法律问题的临时法律顾问；协助法庭解决问题的人。（《元照英美法词典》）

法院之友不是诉讼当事人的任何一方；法院之友提交给法庭的文书是影响法庭裁判的重要工具。他可以支持诉讼的任一方，也可以单独主张自己的观点。法院之友可以就案件的裁判请求法庭做出特别的行动，也可以仅仅就某项法律或程序阐述观点。总之，法院之友通过搭乘诉讼案件的便车，向法庭陈述观点，以期达成影响案件判决、解释法律、甚至是推动公共政策、影响政治过程的目的。

Alien friend 友国人；友国侨民

英文释义：

A foreign national coming from a country at peace with his or her country of residence.（https://www.lexico.com/）

中文释义：

对于某国而言，与该国保持和平关系国家的公民或臣民。