brother

US /ˈbɹʌðɚ/ UK /ˈbɹʌðə/ See IPA manual

Freq #292

Meanings

1

noun
A boy or man who has the same parents as you

My brother still lives with our parents.
2

noun
A man who belongs to the same group, religion, or cause as you

He greeted his fellow soldiers as brothers.
3

noun
A male member of a religious community, such as a monk; also used as a title before his name

Brother Thomas led the morning prayers.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms brethrenbrothers

Derived forms brotherboybrotherdombrotheredbrotherfuckerbrotherfuckingbrotherhoodbrotherjibrotherlessbrotherlikebrotherlocksbrotherlybrotherman

Related forms fraternal fraternity friar

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

little brother
one's younger male sibling (informal)

Adjective + noun
big brother
one's older male sibling (informal)

Adjective + noun
older brother
a male sibling who was born before oneself

Adjective + noun
younger brother
a male sibling who was born after oneself

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (2)

See all

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 (“broth…

broder Middle English brōþor Old English *brōþer Proto-West Germanic *brōþēr Proto-Germanic *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# brother

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɹʌðɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɹʌðə/
**Frequency rank:** 292

## Meanings
1. A boy or man who has the same parents as you
2. A man who belongs to the same group, religion, or cause as you
3. A male member of a religious community, such as a monk; also used as a title before his name

## Examples
- My brother still lives with our parents.
- He greeted his fellow soldiers as brothers.
- Brother Thomas led the morning prayers.

## Derived Forms
- brotherboy
- brotherdom
- brothered
- brotherfucker
- brotherfucking
- brotherhood
- brotherji
- brotherless
- brotherlike
- brotherlocks
- brotherly
- brotherman

## Related Forms
- fraternal
- fraternity
- friar

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: broder
- Root: brōþor
- Root: *brōþer
- Root: *brōþēr
- Root: *bʰréh₂tēr

## 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 (“broth…

## AI Etymology
Brother is 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. Brother follows a historical chain through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr, Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, Old English brōþor, Middle English brother, English brother.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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