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brother

noun
/ˈbɹʌðə/UK/ˈbɹʌðɚ/US/ˈbɹɐðə//ˈbɹʌðəɹ/CA

Etymology

PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Germanic *brōþēr Proto-West Germanic *brōþer Old English brōþor Middle English brother English brother Inherited from Middle English broder, brodir, brother, brothir, broþer, broðer, from Old English brōþor, brōþur, brōðer, brōður, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (“brother”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai. Cognates Cognate with Scots breeder, bridder, brither, broder, brother, bruther (“brother”), Yola brover, brower (“brother”), North Frisian brouder, bruler, Bröđer (“brother”), Saterland Frisian Brour, Brúur (“brother”), West Frisian broer (“brother”), Alemannic German briöder, bruder, brueder, bröder, Brüeder, Brüädär (“brother”), Bavarian pruadar, prueder, pruider (“brother”), Central Franconian Broder (“brother”), Cimbrian pruadar, pruudar (“brother”), Dutch broeder, broer (“brother”), German Bruder (“brother”), German Low German Broor (“brother”), Limburgish broor, Broër (“brother”), Luxembourgish Brudder (“brother; monk”), Mòcheno pruader (“brother”), Vilamovian brüder (“brother”), Yiddish ברודער (bruder, “brother”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish broder, bror (“brother”), Elfdalian bruoðer (“brother”), Faroese and Icelandic bróðir (“brother”), Crimean Gothic bruder (“brother”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar, “brother”); also Breton breur (“brother”), Cornish broder (“brother”), Irish bráthair (“brother”), Manx braar (“brother; friar, monk”), Scottish Gaelic bràthair (“brother”), Welsh brawd (“brother”), Latin frāter (“brother; sibling”), Ancient Greek βρά (brá, “brother”), φρᾱ́τηρ (phrā́tēr, “brother, citizen, clansman, kinsman”), Phrygian βρατερε (bratere, “brother”), Lydian 𐤡𐤭𐤠𐤱𐤭𐤳𐤦𐤳 (prafršiš, “brother”), Latgalian bruoļs (“brother”), Latvian brālis (“brother”), Lithuanian brólis (“brother”), Old Prussian brāti, brote (“brother”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian брат (brat, “brother”), Czech bratr (“brother”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene brat (“brother”), Serbo-Croatian бра̏т, brȁt (“brother; buddy, mate”), Armenian ապեր (aper), ախպար (axpar), ախպեր (axper), եղբայր (eġbayr, “brother; buddy”), Baluchi برات (barát, “brother”), Central Kurdish and Southern Kurdish برا (bra, “brother”), Northern Kurdish bira (“as a brother”), Ossetian ӕрвад (ærvad), ӕрвадӕ (ærvadæ, “brother”), Pashto ورور (wror, “brother”), Persian برادر (barādar, birādar / barâdar), برار (birār / berâr), وردار (vardâr, “brother; comrade; dude”), Ashkun břa (“younger brother”), Kamkata-viri břo (“brother”), Tregami brā (“brother”), Waigali brā, břā (“brother”), Tocharian A pracar (“brother”), Tocharian B procer (“brother”), Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother; friend”).

  1. inherited from *bʰréh₂tēr✻ — “brother”
  2. inherited from *brōþēr✻ — “brother”
  3. inherited from *brōþer✻
  4. inherited from brōþor
  5. inherited from broder

Definitions

  1. Son of the same parents as another person.

  2. A male having at least one parent in common with another person (see half-brother,…

    A male having at least one parent in common with another person (see half-brother, stepbrother).

  3. A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.

    • You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.
    • Thank you, brother.
    • I would like to thank the brother who just spoke.
  4. ›+ 10 more definitions

    1. A form of address to a man.

      • Brother, can you spare a dime?
      • Listen, brother, I don't know what you want, but I’m not interested.

    2. A fellow black man.

      • [Michael Jackson] went on television and said, “I don't have sex because of my religious beliefs”, and the public believed it. I know brothers was like “get the fuck out of here!”. And white people, “Michael's a special kinda guy!”
      • The white cop grilled me. He was tall, but had a stomach like a pregnant woman. The other two were brothers, and they looked like they just didn't wanna be standing there.

    3. Somebody, usually male, connected by a common cause, situation, or affection.

      • O, then! To ride upon such glories, Till my time comes nigh, And commune in the city of peaceful slumbers Among my brothers of wind-blown rye.

    4. Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.

      • And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers.

    5. Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.

      • The eighteenth century text, with its antislavery message and its Adamic figuration, calls implicily for the reconciliation of all peoples as "brothers" (not the reprehensible brothers of Joseph but the cocreated brothers of Adam).
      • Oh, my Brothers, five nights ago many of our braves were out upon the buffalo grounds.

    6. To treat as a brother.

      • Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother?

    7. Expressing exasperation.

      • We're being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother!

    8. Title of respect for an adult male member of a religious or fraternal order.

      • At the monastery, Brother Stephen supervises the kitchen.
      • Please welcome Brother Smith as he moves from his former congregation to his new congregation.

    9. Title of respect for an adult male member of a fraternal/sororal organization, or comrade…

      Title of respect for an adult male member of a fraternal/sororal organization, or comrade in a movement, or even a stranger using fictive kin.

    10. A title used to personify or respectfully refer to concepts or animals.

      • The Native American had a kinship with nature, even referring to Mother Earth and Brother Bear.

The neighborhood

Derived

brotherboy, brotherdom, brothered, brotherfucker, brotherfucking, brotherhood, brotherji, brotherless, brotherlike, brotherlocks, brotherly, brotherman, brotherness, brotherred, brothership, bruncle, co-brother, godbrother, merbrother, my brother in Christ, outbrother, swordbrother, unbrother, unbrothered

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at brother. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01brother02church03christendom04christian05christianity06christ07savior

A definitional loop anchored at brother. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at brother

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA