brother

Meanings

Noun

• 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.
• A black male.
• Somebody, usually male, connected by a common cause or situation.
• Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.
• Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.

Verb

• To treat as a brother.

Related

Broader meaning words

• sibling

Origin

• From Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (compare North Frisian Bröðer, West Frisian broer, Dutch broeder, German Bruder, Danish broder, Norwegian bror), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (compare Irish bráthair, Welsh brawd, Latin frāter, Ancient Greek φράτηρ, Armenian եղբայր, Tocharian A pracar, Tocharian B procer, Russian брат, Lithuanian brolis, Persian برادر,Northern Kurdish bira, Sanskrit भ्रातृ). frater, friar, and pal.