Fam
Close friend or crew — used the way "family" is used, but for people you're actually close with day to day.
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How it's used
This is relationship vocabulary — how people in the GTA refer to friends, crews, and showing respect.
“What's good, fam?”
Where it comes from
Origin: General diaspora/street slang, common in Toronto. Like a lot of GTA slang, its exact origin is debated even among people who use it every day — see our full history of Toronto slang for the bigger picture on how this vocabulary formed.
Sources
This entry was compiled through general research into Toronto/GTA slang rather than one single citable source — see the full bibliography in SOURCES.md and the wider context in our history of Toronto slang.