Word definition: brother

Etimology


Inherited from Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of bhai, frater, friar, and pal.

noun


brother (plural brothers or (archaic in most senses) brethren)

Son of the same parents as another person.

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

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

(informal) A form of address to a man.

(African-American Vernacular) A fellow black man.

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

Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.

(poetic) Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.

Examples


It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

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.

Listen, brother, I don't know what you want, but I'm not interested.

[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!”

SPIN: Aren't you both as popular with white people as black people?L.L.: Oh, no question. But I've always said, that's why when people say, "L.L., hey, like, on the last album, you sold out," I say, "Yo, can I ask you a question, Mike Tyson sell out?" "No, he's a brother." I say, he's a cross-over artist. He went pop. You know what I'm saying? I mean, the rap audience [...] they have to understand that their music is for all people. Me personally, I don't think it's about being black or white, […]

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.

But damn if they knew when to just leave a brother alone and let him sulk in silence.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.

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.

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

The eighteenth century text, with its antislavery message and its Adamic figuration, calls implicily for the reconciliation of all peoples as "brothers" .

Oh, my Brothers, five nights ago many of our braves were out upon the buffalo grounds.

In the case of the boy, a certain amount of instruction comes from the male members of the mother's clan, such as how to go after game, how to handle horses, how to dress, how to conduct yourself and what to seek in life. They also teach the boy how to treat domestic animals. Even pets understand kindness, and the clan brothers use that as an example.

The carriage that the brothers of the Kai clan rode on had travelled a lot these past few days, and the horses that pulled the carriage were exhausted.

Related words


hypernyms

(son of common parents): sibling

coordinate terms

(with regards to gender): sister

related terms

fraternal

fraternity

friar

verb


brother (third-person singular simple present brothers, present participle brothering, simple past and past participle brothered)

(transitive) To treat as a brother.

Examples


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?

interjection


brother

Expressing exasperation.

Examples


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

Data provided by Wiktionary