/ˈbrɛðr(ᵻ)n/, U.S. /ˈbrɛð(ə)rən/.brothern.int.
/ˈbrʌðə/, U.S. /ˈbrəðər//ˈbrɛðr(ᵻ)n/, U.S. /ˈbrɛð(ə)rən/.α. early Old English broður, Old English broþer (rare), Old English broþor, Old English broðer (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English broðor, late Old English broder, late Old English broða (genitive, probably transmission error), early Middle English brother (genitive, in copy of Old English charter), late Middle English brothire, 1500s brodyre (Westmorland); Scottish pre-1700 bruthire; N.E.D. (1888) also records a form Middle English brothere. In Old English, the form broða is probably either an error for broðar or broðra (see section 2β. ).OE Genesis A (1931) 2033 Him þa broðor þry æt spræce þære spedum miclum hældon hygesorge heardum wordum.c1175 ( in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 40 Broðor [OE Vercellibroðor] mine, þone ȝe..to eowre scrifte bicumeð, þonne sceal he eow ȝeornlice acsiæn.c1275 ( Will of Siflæd (Sawyer 1525a) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 94 And ic an eiþer mine brother ane wayngong to wude.c1440 (?a1400) St. John Evangelist (Thornton) l. 233 in G. G. Perry Relig. Pieces in Prose & Verse (1914) 104 His hyne holly, and he..Be-come þare thi brothire [rhyme Ilkone to oþer].c1480 (a1400) SS. Cosmas & Damian l. 193 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 297 Þire bruthire thre.1518 A. Clifton Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 224 For her hays bene all my husbandys hukkyllys & brodyre.
β. Old English bloþrę (Mercian, transmission error), Old English brodro (Northumbrian), Old English broþra, Old English broþru, Old English broðero (Northumbrian), Old English broðro, Old English (rare)–early Middle English broþre, Old English (Northumbrian)–early Middle English (in copy of Old English charter) broðera, Old English–early Middle English broðra, Old English–early Middle English broðre, Old English–early Middle English (in copy of Old English charter) broðru, late Old English broðore, late Old English broððre (Kentish), early Middle English brothere (in copy of Old English charter), early Middle English broþera (in copy of Old English charter), early Middle English broðere, early Middle English broðræ. Merged with section 2α. after final -e ceased to be pronounced.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xii. 47 Mater tua et fratres tui foris stant : moder ðin & broðra [altered to broðro, OE Rushw. broþer, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. gebroþra] ðin ute stondes.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 3 His broðra [OE Lindisf. broðro, OE Rushw. broðro, c1200 Hatton broðre].OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxxi. 8 For mine broðru ic bidde nu.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: John (Hatton) vii. 10 Þa hys broðre [OE Corpus Cambr. gebroðru] foren.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 Leoue broðre and sustre!c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8045 Comen þa broðere [c1300 Otho broþers].a1300 Passion our Lord 626 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 55 Ye beoþ alle broþre [rhyme oþre].
γ. Old English breþere (rare), Old English broeþre (Mercian), Old English (rare)–early Middle English (south-west midlands) breoðre, late Old English–early Middle English breðre, early Middle English breþre, early Middle English breðere, early Middle English briðere. Merged with section 2η. after final -e ceased to be pronounced.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. i. 11 Et fratres eius : & broeþre his.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 675 Hu his breðre Peada & Wulfhere & se abbot Saxulf heafden wroht an minstre.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8269 Arrchelawess breþre þreo.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 275 Borne breðre hauen me forwurpen.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1911 If he sag hise breðere mis-faren.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2271 Al ðo briðere of frigti: mod Fellen.
δ. late Old English–early Middle English broðren, early Middle English broðenen (transmission error), early Middle English broðeren, Middle English broderen, Middle English broderyn, Middle English brodren, Middle English brodyrn, Middle English brotherryn, Middle English brotheryn, Middle English brotheryne, Middle English brothirn, Middle English brothyrn, Middle English broþeren, Middle English broþerne, Middle English broþren, Middle English broþurne, Middle English–1500s brothern, Middle English–1500s brotherne, Middle English– brothren, 1500s brodurne, 1500s brootherne, 1800s brudderen (U.S. regional (southern)), Middle English–1600s (1800s U.S. regional (southern)) brotheren; also Scottish pre-1700 brotherand, pre-1700 brotheren. lOE tr. Vindicta Salvatoris (Vesp.) in B. Assmann Angelsächsische Homilien u. Heiligenleben (1889) 194 He..begen his broðren þa to cristendome awænde.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 173 Ðe holi godspel..specð..of two broðren.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1378 His broðren hine cleopeden.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 101 We gadereþ alle oure broþren.a1479 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 645 All my brodyrn and systyrs.1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1822) i. 44 To haif supportit his brotherand.1843 C. Mathews Var. Writings 160 Kindly and loving brothren every one.1987 R. Pinckney in P. Jones-Jackson When Roots Die iii. 96 But I'm alive, brothren.
ε. late Old English broðras, early Middle English broðeres, Middle English broderis, Middle English broþeres, Middle English broþers, Middle English–1500s brotheres, Middle English– brothers, 1800s brithers (English regional (Devon)), 1800s– bridthers (English regional (Westmorland)); also Scottish pre-1700 brodyrris, 1700s– brithers, 1800s bruthers. lOE Manumission, Exeter (Exeter 3501) in B. Thorpe Diplomatarium Anglicum Ævi Saxonici (1865) 634 Þærto is gewittnes..Ailword Pudding, & Heording, & his broðras.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4565 Alle his broðeres [c1300 Otho broþers] mid him.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) l. 6115 Broþeres hii were [c1275 Calig. ibroðeren].c1450 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Arms) (1927) l. 1643 Hys ij broderis to deth were broȝt.1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iii. i. 30 Ah Lucius, for thy brothers let me plead.1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. B3v Being both younger Brothers.1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 25 For brithers I hae nane o' them.1860 G. P. R. Pulman Song of Solomon i. 5 My awn brithers an' sisters 'was out wi 'me.1999 P. Mishra Romantics (2001) ii. ii. 124 The Pandav brothers had walked on this ground.
ζ. early Middle English breoderen (south-west midlands), early Middle English breðeren, early Middle English breðræn, early Middle English breðren, Middle English brederyn, Middle English bredryne, Middle English breon (perhaps transmission error), Middle English bretherun, Middle English bretheryne, Middle English brethirne, Middle English brethon, Middle English brethourn, Middle English brethrin, Middle English brethryn, Middle English brethyrn, Middle English brethyrne, Middle English bretren, Middle English breþeren, Middle English breþerene, Middle English breþerin, Middle English breþern, Middle English breþerne, Middle English breþeron, Middle English breþeryn, Middle English breþiren, Middle English breþren, Middle English breþrene, Middle English breþurne, Middle English breyeren, Middle English breyerene, Middle English breyerin, Middle English breyern, Middle English breyeroun, Middle English breyeryn, Middle English britheroun, Middle English brithirn, Middle English briþeren, Middle English–1500s bredern, Middle English–1500s brederne, Middle English–1500s bredryn, Middle English–1500s bredurne, Middle English–1500s bretheryn, Middle English–1500s britheren, Middle English–1500s brithern, Middle English–1600s bretherene, Middle English–1600s bretherin, Middle English–1600s bretherne, Middle English–1600s brethrene, Middle English– bretheren, Middle English– brethern, Middle English– brethren (now chiefly in specific senses), late Middle English breþeȝen (probably transmission error), late Middle English–1500s brethen, 1500s bredren, 1500s brethrenne, 1500s brethyn, 1500s–1600s breetherne, 1500s–1600s breethren, 1600s breetheren; also Scottish pre-1700 bredren, pre-1700 bredrene, pre-1700 breetherine, pre-1700 breethering, pre-1700 breidering, pre-1700 breithereine, pre-1700 breitherin, pre-1700 breithrein, pre-1700 breithreine, pre-1700 breithren, pre-1700 breithrin, pre-1700 breithring, pre-1700 bretheren, pre-1700 bretherin, pre-1700 bretherine, pre-1700 brethering, pre-1700 brethern, pre-1700 brethirne, pre-1700 brethreine, pre-1700 brethren, pre-1700 brethring, pre-1700 brithereine, pre-1700 britherine, pre-1700 brithren, pre-1700 brithring; see also bredren n.c1175 ( Ælfric Homily in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 16 Ða wæren tweȝen breðræn [OE Cambr. Ii.4.6 gebroðra].a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 175 Þese breðren weren on þe se.c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) (1844) 26 Hit was mid oure Loverdes pans and mid oure bretherne i-boȝt.c1400 J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 284 Among here briþeren.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Matt. i. 2 Iacob begat Iudas & his brethren.1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. iv. i. 277 Two melancholy brethren.1733 Revol. Politicks vii. 44 He had not stray'd from his Brethern in Point of Loyalty.1870 L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds 181 For collecting the soul-pennies from the bretheren.1994 Wall Street Jrnl. 25 Feb. a14/4 Daimler's management broke ranks with its corporate brethren.
η. Middle English bredhere, Middle English bredir, Middle English bredur, Middle English bredyr, Middle English bredyre, Middle English breiþer (northern), Middle English brethere, Middle English brethir, Middle English brethire, Middle English brethre, Middle English brethyr, Middle English breþer, Middle English breþere, Middle English breþir, Middle English breþre, Middle English breþyr, Middle English breyer, Middle English breyere, Middle English brithir, Middle English briþer, Middle English briyir, Middle English bryther, Middle English brythir, Middle English–1500s breder, Middle English–1500s brethur, Middle English–1600s brether; English regional 1800s– breethir (Yorkshire), 1800s– brether (Lancashire); Scottish pre-1700 bredeir, pre-1700 bredir, pre-1700 bredyr, pre-1700 bredyre, pre-1700 brethair, pre-1700 brethire, pre-1700 brethyr, pre-1700 brethyre, pre-1700 breyder, pre-1700 breyir, pre-1700 brither, pre-1700 brithir, pre-1700 1700s– brether, pre-1700 (1800s Shetland) breder, pre-1700 1800s breether, pre-1700 1800s breither, pre-1700 1800s brethir, pre-1700 (1800s– Shetland) breider, 1800s breedir (Shetland); N.E.D. (1888) also records a form Middle English breither. c1180 Notes to Hexateuch (Claud. B.iv) in A. N. Doane & W. P. Stoneman Purloined Lett. (2011) 65 [O]n þan time hi cwæðe hære hælder breder hære [perh. read wære] fæderes.c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2725 Þou slouȝ his breþer þre.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23873 Al er we briþer.c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 4502 In þis wyse wer þe breþre tweyne To heuene rapt.c1460 Ipomedon (Longleat) (1889) 335 They were brethre as on the modre side.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 93 Twa breyir war in yat land.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. x. l. 41 Tha elrych bredyr.c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 84 And vtheris his breder.1610 Bible (Douay) II. Prov. vi. 19 Our Lord hateth..him that among brether soweth discordes.1688 W. Scot True Hist. Families ii. 33 His Brether did for Food unto him come.1875 J. H. Nodal & G. Milner Gloss. Lancs. Dial.: Pt. I Brether, brothers.1998 S. Telford In a World a wir Ane 19 Wan of my breider wis a cooper.
θ. Middle English brethres (genitive), 1500s brethers; Scottish pre-1700 brethers, 1700s– breethers (chiefly north-eastern). ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. 1087 He kast þe Erle Edrik of alle þat tenement þat boþe þe brethres ware þat longed to Sigiferd & to Sir Morkare.1516 in W. H. Hart Historia et Cartularium Monasterii Sancti Petri Gloucestriae (1867) III. p. lxxxvi We ordeyne and assigne the towne monke..to prepare and ordeyne for the saide brethers ayenste the feste of Saynte John Baptyste yerely thirteen honest gownes and on scaplary of blacke cloth.1587 in A. J. Warden Dundee Burgh Laws (1872) 476 For extinguising off quarellingis and debaittis amang the said brethers of craft.1671 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) III. 113 His gritte grandfather and myne war full brethers.1785 Songster's Compan. 94 Breethers what are ye about?1882 G. MacDonald Castle Warlock (1883) I. lvi. 320 A'body's breethers an' sisters wi' a'body.1985 A. Hutchison tr. Catullus in Chapman 42 61 Ye've lat me doon tee, an we wis lik breethers.
A. n.
I. A male sibling or other relative.† 2. A more distant male relative, such as an uncle, nephew, or cousin. Obsolete.Chiefly in translations of the book of Genesis (see note in etymology).
1.
a. A man or boy considered in relation to another person or other people, as the child of the same parents; a male sibling. More generally: a man or boy who has either parent in common with another sibling, a half-brother. Also as a form of address. (The male counterpart of sister n. 1a.)baby brother, big brother, father-brother, foster-brother, germane brother, half-brother, kid brother, little brother, milk brother, mother brother, stepbrother, whole brother, womb brother, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > [noun]
brotherOE
born brotherOE
broa1530
billy1724
buddy1834
bredda1837
bub1841
boetie1867
bruvver1867
Brer1878
bro1893
boet1920
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) x. 88 On ðam ylcan geare wearð eac ofslegen ecgfridus se æðela cyning..and his cyfesborena broðor siððan rixode.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 13 Lareow, sege minum breðer þæt he dæle uncer æhta wið me.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iv. lvii. 345 ‘Hwæt is þe, broðor? Hu eart þu nu?’
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þe biscop of Wincestre..suor heom athas ðat he neure ma mid te king his brother wolde halden.
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 147 Þo two sustres wepen for here broðres deað.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 5690 He was after is broþer king.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1214 Caym his aun broder slogh.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 54 Brodyr by the modyr syde onely, germanus.
a1500 Warkworth's Chron. (1839) 1 He create and made dukes his two brythir.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. ix. f. 40 Aries Pinzonus, his neuie, by his brothers syde.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. xviii. 24 A friend that sticketh closer then a brother . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. ii. 155 Fie brother, how the world is chang'd with you. View more context for this quotation
1709 D. Manley Secret Mem. 151 Her Brother..was gone abroad..when this Rogue..courted her, or else he had never got his Will of her.
1780 Mirror No. 93 A sad affair happened last night: my brother and sister had such a tiff!
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxxi. 50 Where wert thou, brother, those four days? View more context for this quotation
1860 J. Abbott Aboriginal Amer. vi. 175 She would leave them at home under the care of an older brother or sister.
1920 J. S. Fletcher Orange-yellow Diamond (1922) xxvii. 223 As a matter of fact they're not brothers—though they're very much alike.
1966 M. R. D. Foot SOE in France vii. 163 He was one of three brothers,..landed gentry of the Limousin.
2013 Church Times 25 Oct. 11/1 My brother Ben lives in Canada now, so it was quite an exercise to get all together for a family reunion.
b. figurative. A close male friend who is loved and valued as a brother.In early use difficult to distinguish from sense A. 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] > of or to a spouse, parent, or close companion > of or to one who fills a brother's place
brotherOE
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) iii. 29 Omni tempore diligit qui amicus est, et frater in angustiis comprobatur : on eallum timan lufað se þe freond ys & broþer on angnyssum byþ afandud.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 521 To Pandare his owene broþer dere For loue of god ful pitously he seyde.
1660 A. Woodhead tr. St. Augustine Life ix. iv. 153 In what manner, thou subduedst Alipius, the brother of my soul.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam ix. 12 My friend, the brother of my love. My Arthur!
1879 Frank Leslie's Pleasant Hours 27 205/1 ‘Ruth,’ I said,..‘let me call you so. I am not a stranger now; I am a brother to you.’
1916 R. Beach Crimson Gardenia & other Tales Adventure 225 Johnny Cantwell and Mortimer Grant were partners, trail-mates, brothers in soul if not in blood.
2008 B. F. Slattery Liberation v. 116 It was beyond trust... You are a brother to me. But it would kill these things to say them.
c. A male animal considered in relation to another animal or other animals, as the offspring of the same parent or parents.
ΚΠ
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 119 This samyn horse busiphal hed ane brother, generit and folit of the samyn horse and meyr that folit hym.
1612 I. M. tr. Most Famous Hist. Meruine ii. xvii. 309 This noble horse (which is the brother to Baucant) I giue vnto thee.
1755 J. Pond Sporting Kalendar 176 Earl Gower's bay Horse, Brother to Bandy.
1894 Current Lit. Feb. 148/1 I raised them mules; I broke 'em. They're brothers; one ten, the other 'leven years old.
1908 E. Moorhouse Romance of Derby II. 222 King Edward won the Derby a second time with a brother to Florizel II. and Persimmon.
2013 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. (Nexis) 4 Nov. I have two dogs. They are Labradors, brother and sister.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > [noun] > male relative
mayeOE
brotherOE
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xiii. 11 Loth ða geceas him þone eard wið Iordanen & ferde fram eastdæle, & hi wurdon totwæmede heora ægðer fram hys breðer [L. a fratre suo].
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 43 God ches..þe kenred of leuy, Offyce for to fonge Ase broþeren For to seruy ine godes house.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xiv. 14 Loth his broþer taken [altered from ytaken].
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xiii. 8 And Abram said vnto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, betweene mee and thee..for wee bee brethren . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxix. 12 Jacob told Rachel, that hee was her fathers brother . View more context for this quotation
3. A brother-in-law. Also as a form of address. Cf. good-brother n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > [noun] > brother-in-law
odamOE
brothera1375
brother-in-lawa1375
good-brother1487
brother-law?1583
levir1865
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5304 (MED) No man..miȝt telle þe ioye þat þe bold breþeren..made, william & alphouns.
1463 in J. P. Collier Trevelyan Papers (1857) 83 (MED) Therfore, Broder, remembre the dyscharge of our Cosyn your moders soule.
1617 R. Newman Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 211 My father Allyen..& my brther Edward Allyen.
1682 A. Behn False Count i. ii. 7 Sh'oud you do so rude a thing to your new Brother, your Wife wou'd think you were jealous of her.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. x. 189 Unwilling, for her sister's sake, to provoke him, she only said in reply.., ‘Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know. Do not let us quarrel about the past.’
1865 E. Lynn Linton Grasp your Nettle III. ix. 238 My dear sisters, I am now your brother! let me embrace you!
1978 D. Gelfan tr. Y. Bonaventura in J. Wilbert et al. Folk Lit. Gê Indians I. clxi. 403 His brother-in-law saw him and said: ‘Oh, Brother, you always escape.’
2012 R. R. Parameswaran I am Executioner 63 Behind me stood the very uncle-in-law who was my nominal supervisor in Madras, and alongside him were my future brothers and cousins.
II. A person bound to another by shared experiences or by membership of a particular group.Typically with reference to a man, although collective plural uses may refer to a group consisting of men and women.† 7. A fellow king or prince. Also as a form of address. Obsolete.
4.
a. A person bound to another by reason of a shared humanity; a fellow human being; an equal. Cf. a man and (a) brother at Phrases 5, brotherhood of man at brotherhood n. 2c.Frequently (esp. in early use) in the context of Christian teaching, and thus difficult to distinguish from sense A. 8a.
ΚΠ
OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxxi. 8 For mine broðru [L. propter fratres meos] ic bidde nu, and mine þa neahstan nemne swylce, þæt we sibbe on ðe symble habbon.
OE Ælfric Homily (Trin. Cambr. B.15.34) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 498 Ateoh, þu hiwere, ærest þone beam ut of ðinum eagan, and þu locast þonne þæt þu of ðines broþor eagan þæt mot ut ateo.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 721 (MED) As ofte as ȝe dude hit nouȝt to my leste broþer..ȝe ne dude hit to me.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 854 His grace it was..þat he wald bicom our broþer.
a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 5 (MED) In þi broþir ehe, þu ses a stra.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 77 (MED) Se how good and how glad it is bretheryn ffor to dwelle in on.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFFiiiv Their neyghbours. I meane their susterne and bretherne.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 57 Adams sonnes are my brethren . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 297 So Man..Shall satisfie for Man, be judg'd and die..and rising with him raise His Brethren . View more context for this quotation
1723 J. Blair Our Saviour's Divine Serm. on Mount IV. vii. 109 His Brethren of the sinful Race of Adam.
1795 New Ann. Reg. 1794 Brit. & Foreign Hist. 390/2 Liberty and equality..recalled to the minds of men that they are all equal in rights, that they are all brothers.
1839 H. W. Longfellow Voices of Night 7 Footprints, that..A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire v. 278 An ungrateful infection, weakening and corrupting the future of his brothers.
1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million 32 We are all brothers—Chinamen, Englishmen, Zulus, Patagonians and the people in the bend of the Kaw River.
2013 J. L. High in D. Sevin & C. Zeller Heinrich von Kleist 141 The familiar Schillerian ‘Band’ that makes all humans brothers.
b. A person forming part of a group bound together by geographical or ethnic ties; a fellow citizen or fellow countryman; a compatriot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > compatriots > [noun] > compatriot
brotherOE
countrymanc1390
fellow subject1549
fellow countryman1577
patriot1596
landsman1605
compatriot1611
domestic1620
paisan1940
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) ii. 11 Moyses..geseah..hu sum Egyptisc man sloh sumne Ebreiscne of his broðrum [L. de Hebraeis fratribus suis].
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xviii. 2 Prestis & leuytees..noon oþer þyng þei sholyn take of þe possession of þer briþryn [a1425 L.V. britheren].
1555 W. Turner New Bk. Spirituall Physik f. 1v My brethren and countre men, the noble and gentyl men of Englande.
1644 P. Nye Exhort. to taking Solemne League 7 Let no faithfull English heart bee afraid to joyne with our Brethren of all the three Kingdomes in this solemne League.
1653 N. Burt New-yeers-gift 12 Fellow-Commoners, who are the Commonwealth, or Native Country-men, or brothers English-men.
1714 J. Fortescue-Aland Fortescue's Governance of Eng. 30 The Lombards..Brothers and Kinsmen of the Saxons.
1868 tr. Maximilian I of Mexico Recollections II. 325 Would that we could bring home to our brethren in the Fatherland this taste of the English for nature's comforts!
1897 Punch 26 June 329/1 Wheresoever they come from, the Sons of the Empire are welcomed by their British brethren with fervour and delight.
1935 J. S. Huxley & A. C. Haddon We Europeans vii. 213 The largest nation in the Balkan peninsula is that of the Jugoslavs.., who are largely separated from their northern brethren by the Magyars and Rumanians.
1954 Middle East Jrnl. 8 311 Algerians have tended to follow the example of their Arab brothers elsewhere and turn to nationalism for deliverance.
1966 C. G. Seligman Races of Afr. (ed. 4) vi. 86 The extinct Guanches of the Canary Islands showed at least as much racial mixture as their brethren of the mainland.
2008 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 19 Apr. Scores of exiled Tibetans..set out on foot towards Tibet to support their brethren who are facing oppression under the Chinese regime.
c. Used as a familiar form of address to an unrelated man, esp. one whose name is not known. Cf. sister n. 4b. In later use chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] > of or to a man
sonOE
brotherOE
friarc1290
lad1535
fellow1577
bubba1841
old top1856
bra1869
bro1918
mush1936
ouboet1953
coz1961
oppa1963
bruv1970
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxix. 4 He cwæð to þam hyrdum: Broðru [L. fratres], hwanon synd ge?
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Friar's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 95 Deere brother Thow art a bailly, and I am another.
a1450 York Plays (1885) 121 (MED) Breder, bees all blythe and glad.
?1569 H. Gough tr. B. Georgijević Ofspring House of Ottomanno sig. I.iiv Ni brate, Zabludiossi daleko. No brother, you haue erred greatlye.
1686 Hickes's Coffee-house Jests (ed. 4) ccviii. 136 Peace Brother, says he, hold thy tongue, she'll be a Woman to morrow.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxiv. 219 Yo, ho! brother, you must come along with me.
1851 G. Borrow Lavengro (1852) lxxi. 369 I ate a piece of the cake. ‘Well, brother, how do you like it?’ said the girl, looking fixedly at me.
1898 McClure's Mag. July 228/1 The great chief stood there, and no pale-face said to him, ‘Come here, brother, and eat.’
1912 Dial. Notes 3 572 Say, brother, can you tell me how far it is to Veedersburg?
1932 Bluefield (W. Va.) Daily Tel. 21 Oct. 6/5 The effect is eerie, particularly when Weber goes into a ‘torch’ number such as ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’
2002 Daily Globe (Ironwood, Mich.) 17 July 5/1 Hey, brother, have you washed your hands?
d. colloquial (chiefly in African-American usage). A (fellow) black man. Also as a form of address. Cf. sister n. 4f, bro n. 5a.
ΚΠ
1910 T. A. Dorgan in N.Y. Evening Jrnl. 3 Feb. 12/3 Those meerschaum-colored brothers in the South will be wearing diamond rings and plug hats.
1922 Negro in Chicago (Chicago Comm. Race Relations) ix. 563 The poor proprietor of the place, if he or she is one of the ‘brothers’ or ‘sisters’, is almost helpless.
1927 E. C. L. Adams Congaree Sketches ix. 15 Brother, you know hell is a bad place when dey got generations of ole sisters pen up together.
1965 Los Angeles Times 14 Aug. 1/3 Light-skinned Negroes such as myself were targets of rocks and bottles until someone standing nearby would shout..‘He's a brother—lay off.’
1993 Face Sept. 69/1 They saw the brothers at the party shouting ‘What's up nigga?’ to one another.
2004 W. Marsalis & S. S. Hinds To Young Jazz Musician (2005) ix. 104 Brothers need to be out here trying to compete for jobs and education.
2007 Crisis Jan. 8/1 Hey brother! Where can I find some soul food?
5.
a. A male comrade or companion; an associate; a person considered as sharing the same experiences, or set of circumstances, as another. Also as a form of address. Usually in form brothers in plural.blood brother, sword brother, sworn brother, wed brother: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a companion or associate > [noun]
yferec870
brothereOE
ymonec950
headlingOE
ferec975
fellowOE
friendOE
eveningOE
evenlinglOE
even-nexta1225
compeerc1275
monec1300
companiona1325
partnerc1330
peerc1330
neighbour?c1335
falec1380
matec1380
makec1385
companya1425
sociatec1430
marrow1440
partyc1443
customera1450
conferec1450
pareil?c1450
comparcionerc1475
resortc1475
socius1480
copartner?1504
billy?a1513
accomplice1550
panion1553
consorterc1556
compartner1564
co-mate1576
copemate1577
competitor1579
consociate1579
coach-companion1589
comrade1591
consort1592
callant1597
comrado1598
associate1601
coach-fellow1602
rival1604
social1604
concomitanta1639
concerner1639
consociator1646
compane1647
societary1652
bor1677
socius1678
interessora1687
companioness1691
rendezvouser1742
connection1780
frater1786
matey1794
pardner1795
left bower1829
running mate1867
stable companion1868
pard1872
buddy1895
maat1900
bro1922
stable-mate1941
bredda1969
Ndugu1973
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xix. 244 Þa onbrægd se his geþofta & locade to him, & þus cwæð: Eala broðor [L. frater] Ecgberht.
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1016 Coman begen þa cyningas togædre..& wurdon feolagan & wedbroðra.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 30 (MED) Þu..art mi broðeres bone Rufines.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 478 Ne canne ðan non oðer Oc remeð mid his broðer.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13086 Breþer..mi dere and freinde, Nu yee sal mine erand wend.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 303 I tolde thee myn auenture As to my cosyn, and my brother sworn.
a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 4499 Sir, brethre we ar, both ye and I.
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) clxxxiv (MED) Beseching..For all my brethir that ben in this place, This is to seyne, that servandis ar to lufe.
1611 Bible (King James) Job xxx. 29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owles. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. xviii. 9 Hee also that is slouthful in his worke, is brother to him that is a great waster. View more context for this quotation
1632 P. Massinger Maid of Honour ii. ii. sig. E I will draw my sword. O for a brother!
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife iii. ii. 35 Perhaps you may prove as weak a brother amongst 'em that way as t'other.
1786 R. Burns Poems 213 Fareweel, ‘my rhyme-composing’ brither!
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 48 A legioned band of linked brothers.
1853 New Sporting Mag. Jan. 62 I would advise my sporting brothers to be more solicitous about their powder than their shot.
1968 C. S. Leach tr. C. Miłosz Native Realm 134 Polish and Russian revolutionists should have been brothers in their common struggle against Czardom.
1993 P. Auster Coll. Prose (2003) 493 To write a work of fiction, one must be free to say what one has to say. I have exercised that freedom with every word I have written—and so has Salman Rushdie. That is what makes us brothers, and that is why his predicament is also mine.
b. Chiefly literary. In various phrases with of or in, referring to a (male) comrade or associate in a specified sphere or occupation, as brother of the blade, brother of the gusset, brother of the long robe, brother of the quill, brother in trade, etc.See also brother of the angle at Phrases 3, brother in arms at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > writer or author > [noun] > fellow-writer
brother of the quill1680
1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. K7 Hee is a Gentleman and a brother of the Sword.
1652 Hinds Elder Brother 6 He takes his leave of him, and resolves to live a brother of the Blade, buyes him a pretty highway Nag, a good Sword and Case of private Pistolls.
1680 Observ. ‘Curse Ye Meroz’ 7 This Aphorism is but borrowed from another Brother of the Quill.
1737 J. Ozell tr. F. Rabelais Wks. I. liv. 370 No huff-cap Squire, or Brother of the Blade.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 15 His house is open to all unfortunate brothers of the quill.
?1793 J. Caulfield Blackguardiana Brother of the gusset, a pimp.
1877 W. Kirby Chien d'Or xxxviii. 399 The lawyers of old France..did not differ in any essential point from their brothers of the long robe in New-France.
1878 J. Morley Diderot II. 122 A chivalrous defender of poorer brethren in art.
1886 Longman's Mag. Mar. 552 Our brethren of the pen over-seas.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec. 10/1 If he wishes to send a letter by post to his nearest brother-in-trade, seven miles distant, it has to cover 185 miles before it reaches him.
1979 Texas Monthly May 150/1 Among us brethren of the ruddy neck, savingness and salvage have never lost their currency.
2004 Africa News (Nexis) 3 Dec. It is possible for Tunj to pass away with just scant mention from his brethren of the pen.
6.
a. A (fellow) member of a professional or trade organization, such as a guild, company, trade union, etc., or of a society or fraternity. More generally: a (fellow) professional or tradesperson. Also as a prefixed title. Cf. brotherhood n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > guild of medieval origin > a member
guild-brother1382
brother1389
craftman1415
craftsman1587
guild1605
guildsman1873
1389 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 45 To noriche more loue bytwene þe bretheren & sustren of þe bretherhede.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. l. 246 Dismas my broþer bi-souȝte þe of grace.
1418 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 196 (MED) Euery brothir of the same felashepe..shal quarterly paye to ther prest vj d.
a1483 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 315 Yf any Brother of the fforsayd ffraternyte and crafte dysspysse anoder.
1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 1217 Corpus Christi Colledge was firste begunne to be buylded by the Alderman and brethren of Corpus Christi Guild.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 142 Gif ane man, quha is nocht ane brother of this Gilde..leaues in legacie, any part of his gudes to this Gild: we receave him as ane of our brether.
1638 H. Adamson Muses Threnodie iii. 32 We be brethren of the Rosie Crosse; We have the Mason word, and second sight.
1722 R. Steele Conscious Lovers ii. i. 20 What shall I do for a Brother in the Case?
1795 in R. Humphreys Mem. J. Decastro (1824) 247 As many Grands and Brothers of the Odd Fellows, Bucks, Masonic and other Lodges.
1805 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 14 231 To furnish their professional brethren of the circle with a supply of recent vaccine fluid.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia I. 559 Admitted a brother of the Stationers' Company.
1888 Calif. Med. Jrnl. Dec. 518 A female brother, from the Sierras,..was not pleased with the bill of fare.
1896 Railway Conductor Apr. 272/1 We are glad to see Brother Billy White around at Division meetings again.
1915 Our Jrnl. (Metal Polishers Union of N. Amer.) May 51/2 I want to have Brother Flynn to understand that I am no women-hater, but one who wishes to see them flourish.
1922 J. J. Lanier Washington, Great Amer. Mason i. 25 Tradition says that Washington and his Masonic brethren held Lodges in this cavern.
1955 M. Millar Beast in View xiv. 171 She had met Evelyn..on a double date with one of John's fraternity brothers.
2006 Managem. Today Jan. 5/2 One just sighs when the brothers vote for another day of inaction on the London Underground for the umpteenth time.
b. A junior member of a municipal council or corporation. Cf. alderman n. 3. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of deliberative or legislative assembly > [noun] > of a company or corporation > member of
brother1602
1602 2nd Pt. Returne from Parnassus iv. iv. 1816 in Three Parnassus Plays (1949) 342 Two states of an incorporation, the one of the Aldermen, the other of the Brethren.
1704 London Gaz. No. 4066/3 The Mayor..Aldermen, Brethren, and Capital Burgesses, of Your Majesty's Ancient Borough of Derby.
1811 R. Fenton Hist. Tour Pembrokeshire 207 It appointed twenty-four common councilmen, fifteen of them aldermen, and the others brethren.
1834 in 1st Rep. Commissioners Munic. Corporations Eng. & Wales (1835) App. v. 2932 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 116) XXVI. 1 The whole common council therefore is composed of—Ten Chief Benchers, or Aldermen, Three Benchers, and Fifteen or seventeen Younger Brethren, or Common Councilmen.
2011 I. Collard Liverpool City Centre through Time 5 By the middle of the sixteenth century, the town was led by the mayor and two bailiffs and a number of Mayor's Brethren, who were later called aldermen.
c. A member of Trinity House, an association responsible for the licensing of ships' pilots and the construction and maintenance of buoys and lighthouses around the coasts of England and Wales. See Trinity House n. at trinity n. Compounds 2.The Master and Elder Brethren of Trinity House make up the governing body of the corporation, and are assisted by a larger body of Younger Brethren. The brethren are drawn from various sectors of the maritime community.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > sailors involved in specific duties or activities > [noun] > helmsman or pilot > Trinity House pilot
brother1696
branch-pilot1783
1616 S. Page Diuine Sea-seruice Ep. Ded. in God be Thanked sig. E4 To the Right Worshipfvll the Master, Wardens, and Assistants, and the whole Societie of the Brethren of the Trinitie-house, of Saint Clements in Deptford-Strand.
1696 London Gaz. No. 3176/3 The Master, Wardens, Assistants and Elder Brethren of the Society of the Trinity-House at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 330 This corporation [sc. Trinity House] is governed by a master, 4 wardens, 8 assistants, and 18 elder brethren. The inferior members..are called younger brethren; into which number any master or mate, skilled in navigation, may be admitted.
1790 Leeds Intelligencer 14 Sept. Lately was married..Capt. Stickney, of Hull, a brother of the Trinity House.
1879 Sat. Mag. 22 Feb. 343/1 The Elder Brethren of the Trinity House had had the wisdom to make him [sc. Faraday] their ‘Scientific Adviser’.
1886 Punch 10 Apr. 170/2 He sed as he was a Brother of the Trinity House, and he claimed for his Elder Brothers as they put up the most usefoolest Lites round the Coast.
1907 W. Jerrold Highways & Byways Kent xxii. 423 The headquarters of the Trinity House Brethren are on Tower Hill.
1987 B. Farthing Internat. Shipping vi. 73 In cases involving collisions and salvage the judge is usually assisted by two elder brethren of Trinity House on matters of fact and seamanship.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > titles applied to royalty > by or for each other
brother1418
cousinc1418
1418 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 291 [This letter of the king of England encloses a copy of a letter from] oure Broþer þe Duc of Bretaigne.
1534 King James V Let. to Henry VIII 5 June in Facsimiles National MSS (1865) II. xxviii Derrest and bestbelouit Brother and Oncle..Ȝour lowynge hartly Brothere and Nepho James Rex.
1535 Instr. to Eng. Ambassador in Facsimiles National MSS (1865) II. xxix To be frank and playn with his saide goode Brother [of France], his Majestie woll in noo wise, directly or indirectly, confesse the Bisshop of Rome to have any jurisdiction in Princes.
1553 Queen Mary I Let. 31 July in Facsimiles National MSS (1865) III. iii. iv Our good brothere the ffrenche king.
a1600 ( Rec. Bluemantle Pursuivant (Julius) in C. L. Kingsford Eng. Hist. Lit. 15th Cent. (1913) 381 (MED) The King..sent a right worshipfull man in his embassat to ye right mighty prynce his brother, the Duc of Bourgoyne.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 64. ⁋1 Princes and Sovereigns..are stiled Brothers to each other.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 199 Lewis..was as licentious..as his brother of England.
1882 J. Frost Hist. Mexico & its Wars v. 88 Montezuma was happy to hear of the existence of his royal brother of Spain.
1900 F. S. Isham Under Rose (1903) xxix. 416 ‘We have heard your story, my child, from our brother, the emperor,’ the king was saying.
III. Religious senses.
8.
a. A fellow (male) member of the Christian Church as a whole, or of a particular denomination; a fellow Christian. Also more generally: a fellow (male) believer of any faith; a co-religionist. Also as a form of address.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > religion > a religion or church > [noun] > membership in > person having
brotherOE
sisterOE
church memberc1475
churchman1612
religionist1651
churchwoman1681
Zioner1681
churchite1791
bredren1809
co-religionist1842
co-religionary1861
triumphalist1967
OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) iii. 74 Broðor mine, þonne ge rihtre andetnesse to eowrum scriftum becumen, þonne sceal he eow geornlice ahsian [etc.].
OE Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. Bazire & J. E. Cross Eleven Old Eng. Rogationtide Homilies (1989) 98 Gyf þonne se cristena mann þe þin broðor is þe ahwar geyfelode, þæt þu scealt miltsigende forgyfan.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 3 Nu broþerr wallterr..broþerr min i crisstenndom..Icc hafe don swa summ þu badd.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 101 We gadereþ alle oure broþren mid ous of adopcion.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 63 Thi Cristen britheren and sistren.
1521 Bp. J. Fisher Wks. 329 In the epistoles of oure ryght dere broder Paule.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Buriall f. xxiiii*v The soule of this our brother departed.
1552 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16279) Morninge Prayer sig. .iv Dearely beloued brethren, the scripture moueth vs in sondrye places, to acknowledge and confesse our manyfolde synnes and wyckednesse.
1613 L. Bayly Practise of Pietie (ed. 3) 917 We are bold to become humble suiters, vnto thy diuine Maiestie, in the behalfe of this our deere Brother.
1782 W. Cowper Nightingale & Glow-worm in Poems 327 Hence jarring sectaries may learn..That brother should not war with brother.
1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 20 We expect a man in a black gown, supposed to be telling us truth, to address us as brethren.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire iv. 166 The Protestants..found warm hospitality among their northern brethren.
1874 W. Simpson Meeting the Sun (1877) xiii. 119 These followers of the Prophet have the feeling that Christians are their brothers in faith.
1922 F. Schevill Hist. Balkan Penins. xxvii. 427 The indolent Ottomans could always redress the balance by calling on their brothers in Islam, the roving Kurds, to reduce the pride of the Armenians.
1923 Smart Set Jan. 71/1 The other brethren and sistern who had taught him had been entirely too free with their references to the hot hereafter reserved for sinners.
2010 L. E. Caffery Years of Grace, Life of Mercy 129 After the service, pastor Mike Vario mentioned that there was a brother in the church that was really hurting.
b. In plural, chiefly as the Brethren. The members of the early Christian church.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Puritanism > [noun] > person > collective
the BrethreneOE
godly1650
holiness1888
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) xlix. §3. 42 Ða apostolas & þa eldran broðor [L. seniores fratres] hælo eow wyscað.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xviii. 18 Poul.., seiynge far wel to bretheren [L. fratris], by boot cam to Sirie.
1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) Acts xviii. 18 Paul..toke his leave of the brethren.
1563 L. Humphrey Nobles or of Nobilitye ii. sig. p.vv In the Apostles time, they bestowed their almes on the godlye poore. And Paule, ofte gathered for the brethren at Hierusalem.
1611 Bible (King James) Acts xi. 29 The disciples, euery man according to his abilitie, determined to send reliefe vnto the brethren which dwelt in Iudea. View more context for this quotation
1681 E. Hickeringill Naked Truth: Pt. II. 35 St. Paul indeed went to visit the Brethren.
1740 N. Lardner Credibility Gospel Hist.: Pt. II. IV. i. xliii. 580 Novatus..endeavoured to cast the blame of all he had done upon some of the brethren.
1855 A. P. Stanley Epist. St. Paul to Corinthians II. 142 His heart was lighted up at his meeting with the brethren at Appii Forum.
a1889 J. B. Lightfoot Notes on Epist. St. Paul (1904) 156 St. Paul was generally attended by one or more of the brethren.
1946 Bible (R.S.V.) Philipp. iv. 21 The brethren who are with me greet you.
2009 M. Sleeman Geogr. & Ascension Narr. in Acts 213 The brethren rally around Saul.
c. In plural as Brethren. The members of any of various Christian organizations or denominations originating during or since the Reformation and aiming to adhere to New Testament principles, frequently recognizing no official order of ministers and having no formal creed; (sometimes) spec. = Plymouth Brethren n. Also in the names of such organizations, as Brethren in Christ, Christian Brethren, etc.Chiefly as a self-designation, but sometimes (in early use) applied ironically by opponents.Exclusive Brethren, Hutterian Brethren, Old Order Brethren, Open Brethren, United Brethren, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Plymouth Brethren > [noun] > person > collective
Brethren1581
Plymouth Brethren1838
saint1838
1581 W. Allen Apol. Two Eng. Colleges f. 53 There is not the poorest artificer of al the Anabaptistes in Holland, or of the Puritans, Brethren of loue, and Protestants in England..but he wil oppose him self boldly against al the Church.
1648 J. Cotton Way Congregational Churches ii. i. 10 It is an Ordinance of Christ, to elect Officers, (Deacons and Elders:) for this is the power and priviledge of the Church of Brethren.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 139 Heartned hereat the Brethren, who hitherto had no particular platforme of discipline amongst themselves..began in a solemne Councell..to conclude, on a certain forme, as followeth.
1750 J. Wesley Let. 27 Nov. (1931) III. 52 The Moravians..commonly style themselves ‘The Brethren’ or ‘The Moravian Church’.
1849 (title) A Retrospect of Events that have taken place amongst the Brethren.
1885 J. H. Dubbs Hist. Man. Reformed Church United States vii. 222 His memory is greatly cherished in the Church of the ‘United Brethren in Christ’.
1886 Whitaker's Almanack 195/2 The Brethren, or Plymouth Brethren, have 23 places of worship in London.
1909 Encycl. Relig. & Ethics II. 845/2 The ‘Open’ Brethren..fraternize freely with other Christians.
1995 R. K. Burkinshaw Pilgrims in Lotus Land i. 37 By 1917, the Plymouth Brethren (more recently known as the Christian Brethren) had established at least twelve congregations.
2005 Seed Oct. 30/1 The Dover area was home to a wide diversity of sects, including Mennonites, Lutherans, Brethren and Amish.
d. As a title or form of address preceding the name of a male lay preacher or (later) a Protestant minister or pastor. In later use chiefly U.S.In early use not always clearly distinguishable from sense A. 8a.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > [noun] > address or title of
his reverencea1438
your reverence?a1440
fathershipa1500
dompnea1536
domine1566
reverendship1609
Revd1670
rookship1710
brother1741
venerability1843
Pfarrer1844
Rev.1862
reverend1869
1741 J. Wesley Let. 21 Apr. (1931) I. 353 I am not clear that Brother Maxfield should not expound at Greyhound Lane; nor can I as yet do without him. Our clergymen have miscarried full as much as the laymen.
1810 C. Anderson Let. in H. Anderson Life & Lett. C. Anderson (1854) iv. 115 Brother Barclay has been out on a..preaching tour through a most destitute part of the country.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 451/1 The cause of it [sc. an outburst] is a..Paul-like pulpit utterance, by Brother Beecher, of Plymouth Church, last Sunday.
1923 New Oxf. (Pa.) Item 29 Nov. She turned to the young preacher. ‘Brother Hopkins... My home is your home.’
1988 M. Ivins Molly Ivins can't say That, can She? (1991) 265 Back in 1975, there was an unholy uproar in the state over another preacher, Brother Lester Roloff of Corpus Christi, since gone to glory.
2009 G. Dayal B. Eno's Another Green World x. 81 Reich ran into a black Pentecostal preacher named Brother Walter, who was dishing out a sermon to passersby.
9.
a. A (fellow) member of a male religious order. Cf. frater n.2 1, friar n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > monasticism > monk > [noun]
monkeOE
brotherOE
claustermanc1175
man (woman, etc.) of religiona1200
cloister-monkc1325
friarc1330
son1416
religion manc1475
pater1481
abbey man1483
scapularc1540
monach?c1550
cloister-man1581
monastic1632
cowlist1637
religieux?a1649
religioso1708
saint1888
society > faith > church government > monasticism > monk > [noun] > fellow
brotherOE
commoigne1425
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxxv. 483 Sum broþer gecyrde to anum mynstre þe he sylf gestaþelode.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6367 Himm birrþ beon..god wiþþ hise breþre.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 262 Þis boc is uolueld..of ane broþer of þe cloystre of sanynt austin of Canterberi.
a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 21 (MED) Yef any sistir ouþir broþir of þordir..comun wid hir, [etc.].
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xxi. sig. h.i This kynge gaue a place..To buylde a monastery, to relygyous brethur.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.iiijv The pope..hath graunted in his byll That euery brother may do what he wyll.
1535–6 Act 27 Henry VIII c. 42 in Statutes of Realm (1963) III. 600 Scolers Dimies Brotherne Chapleynes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iii. i. 477 I am a brother Of gracious Order, late come from the Sea, In speciall businesse from his Holinesse. View more context for this quotation
1659 F. Howgill Mistery Babylon 12 If any refuse to give us a Tythe-cock of hay..we can pull down the hedges, and break open the gates.., as many of our reverend Brethren of our order have lately done.
1721 R. Keith in tr. Thomas à Kempis Select Pieces II. To Rdr. p. vii The pious Author having been a Monastick or Brother of the Order of St. Augustine.
1798 tr. A. Barruel Mem. Hist. Jacobinism IV. ii. 79 All the scientific journals are procured for the brethren at the expence of the Order.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe (1820) III. vi. 139 Albert had received within a house of religion the Jewish captive, and..the paramour of a brother of the Order.
1898 A. M. Y. Baylay tr. P. H. Batiffol Hist. Rom. Breviary iv. 194 The Italian abbey of Fons Avellanus, founded in 1019..as a Benedictine community, the brethren being, however, as much hermits as monks.
1902 Daily Chron. 2 Sept. 5/6 The murderer was a tertiary lay brother of the Dominican order.
1980 B. MacLaverty Lamb (1981) iii. 23 I once knew a young Brother who fancied himself as a calligrapher.
2011 W. P. Jones Different Kind of Cell viii. 105 Br. Clayton and the brothers of the abbey enjoy a particular spiritual bond.
b. As a prefix to the first name of a male member of a religious order; abbreviated Br. Also as a form of address.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. xiii. 436 Hwæt þæt is wundor, broðor Dryhthelm [L. frater Drycthelme]—wæs ðæt þæs weres nama.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) ii. vii. 115 Se drihtnes wer..cigde Maurum þone munuc & þus cwæð: ‘broþor Maurus! yrn hraðe.’
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 77 Broþer Ranulf, monk of Chestre, compiled and made þis presente cronicle.
c1525 Rule St. Francis in J. S. Brewer & R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 65 (MED) To his welbeloued sonnys Brother Fraunces and to alle other brotherne of the order of the bretherne mynorrys.
1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Funke Actes & Hist. Worlde 1532–50 in tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles f. ccxxxvv A Monke, called Brother George Ordinis paulinor at Offen.
1663 A. Cowley Cutter of Coleman-St. iv. v. 46 Brother Abednego, will you not pronounce this Evening tide before the Congregation of the Spotless in Coleman-street?
1707 W. Nicolson Diary 9 Mar. in London Diaries (1985) 423 After Ordination-Sermon at St Paul's..at Dinner with Brother Joseph.
1873 H. W. Longfellow Monk Casal-Maggiore in Aftermath i. 69 Brother Anthony..Drove him [sc. the ass] before him.
1897 Harper's Weekly 6 Nov. 1102/3 The Abbot..said slowly, ‘Brother Ambrose, on such a night as this, after the manner of men, I fight with beasts at Ephesus.’
1933 H. Allen Anthony Adverse II. vi. xxxviii. 566 From the forward deck of the Ariostatica came the voice of Brother François saying the office for the dead.
1980 B. MacLaverty Lamb (1981) i. 8 I've decided once and for all to catalogue my books. You don't have much call for them do you, Brother?
2007 School Libr. Jrnl. (Nexis) June 159 A self-serving monk named Brother Rohan.
c. In plural. Used in the names of various men's religious orders, as Brethren of Alexius, Brethren of the Common Life, Brethren of the Community, Brethren of the Holy Trinity, Brethren of the Sack, Brothers of Charity, etc. Also (in singular): a member of one of these orders.See also Christian Brothers n.
ΚΠ
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. vi. 275 Speaking of the coming in of the Brethren of the Sack, as also of the Order of Bethlemites, he welcomes them.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 561 He was a benefactor to the said Vicars, by giving them the Lands which belonged to the Brethren of the Holy Trinity at Totness in Devonshire.
1691 T. Southerne Sir Anthony Love i. 5 A Brokeing brother of Bethlehem, With all his Frippery about him!
1706 tr. L. E. Du Pin New Eccl. Hist. 16th Cent. II. iv. xi. 450 The Brothers of Charity were instituted by St. John de Dieu.
1765 A. Maclaine tr. J. L. von Mosheim Eccl. Hist. I. ii. 744 The famous sect of the Cellite brethren and sisters arose at Antwerp; they were also styled the Alexian brethren and sisters, because St. Alexius was their patron.
1800 T. Haweis Impartial Hist. Church of Christ II. 296 The one bore the name of conventual brethren, the other, brethren of observation.
1834 T. A. Trollope Encycl. Ecclesiastica I. 567 Those who insisted upon the mitigation of the austere injunctions of their founder, were called the Brethren of the Community.
1839 J. Murdock tr. J. L. von Mosheim Inst. Eccl. Hist. II. iii. ii. ii. 317 The..Fratres parvi (Little Brethren), or Fraterculi de paupere vita (Little Brothers of the poor life), were Franciscan monks..who wished to observe the regulations prescribed by their founder St. Francis more perfectly.
1860 A. Edersheim tr. J. H. Kurtz Hist. Christian Church I. §142. 457 The Brethren of the Common Life were an association of pious clergymen founded by Gerhard Groot at Deventer in the Netherlands (1384).
1879 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. I. i. 694/1 Brethren of Alexius:..a sect in the fourteenth century, the same as Cellites.
1938 E. Goudge Towers in Mist (1998) iv. 92 The Carmelites, the Brothers of the Sack and the Crossed Friars soon became..familiar figures.
1996 C. Lindberg European Reformations iii. 57 Luther went to Magdeburg, where he lived and studied at a school run by a pious lay religious organization, the Brethren of the Common Life.
2001 Eng. Hist. Rev. 116 1249 The Humiliati outlived the Brothers of the Sack, the Jesuates and other failed experiments in medieval utopian communitarianism.
IV. Figurative senses referring to a thing.
10. A thing perceived as resembling, or having a close connection to, another or others. Frequently with †to or of, and with preceding qualifying adjective, as big brother of, elder brother of, etc.In quot. OE as part of a riddle (describing an antler) using anthropomorphic imagery; gingran broþor (‘younger brothers’) refers to a newly grown pair of antlers ousting the pair of the previous year.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > that which is related or has affinity
brotherOE
cousina1398
relativea1475
sistera1500
cousin-germanc1547
yokefellow1547
ally1566
affinitive1579
twin1592
conjugate1605
sympathizant1620
relatist1640
first cousin1670
family likeness1759
family resemblance1785
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adjective] > another or fellow
brotherOE
another1556
OE Riddle 88 17 Nu unc mæran twam magas uncre sculon æfter cuman, eard oðþringan gingran broþor.
lOE Metrical Charm: Against Wen (Royal 4 A.xiv) 4 Wenne.., þu scealt..to þan nihgan berhge, þer þu hauest, ermig, enne broþer.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 121 (MED) Accedie is as sleuþes broþer, Wicke on and wicke oþer.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale (Ellesmere) (1875) l. 1439 The dragon..dyeth nat but if that he be slayn With his brother..By the dragon Mercurie..He vnderstood, and Brymstoon by his brother That out of sol and Luna were ydrawe.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 18v (MED) Atuix it [sc. matrice] & þe pappez bene co[n]tinued..mylken veynez & menstrualez; Wherfor..Ipocras seid milke to be broþer to menstruez.
a1475 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Harl. 875) (1867) A. ii. l. 141 (MED) Feire speche þat is feiþles is falsnes broþer.
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall v. 77 Since the brother of death daily haunts us with dying memento's.
1693 Leo of St Mary Magdalen Pious Instr. 94 Besides this Vice, there is another, Which equally breaks this Command: Blasphemous Cursing is its brother.
1770 A. Young Expediency Free Exportation of Corn 17 Whoever will take the pains to read all that has been written against Exportation, will find every argument knocking down its brother.
1802 W. Wordsworth in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads (ed. 2) II. 124 That April morn, Of this the very brother.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Isabel in Poems 8 A clear stream flowing with a muddy one, Till in its onward current it absorbs..The vexéd eddies of its wayward brother.
1911 Polit. Sci. Q. 26 164 In the United States, the telephone has grown to be the big brother of the telegraph.
1978 J. A. Maxwell America's Fascinating Indian Heritage iii. 97/2 The stickball game the Southeastern tribesmen aptly called the little brother of war.
2010 R. Livingstone tr. U. Beck God of one's Own i. 16 Doubt, the brother of faith whose narratives thread their way through the history of religion.
11. Any of the five sepals of the calyx (calyx n. 1a) of certain roses, esp. the dog rose. Chiefly in five brothers (of the rose) and variants, with reference to a riddle (see note and e.g. quot. 1876). [In later use translating or referring to a post-classical Latin riddle (1732 or earlier; see quots. a1807, 1876 for examples of English versions) which was based on a much earlier verse recorded in a printed edition (1521) of the Repertorium morale of Pierre Bersuire (c1290–1362): Fratres sunt quinque: medius partitur vtrinque: Sunt duo barbati, sine barba sunt duo nati ‘There are five brothers: the middle one is shared on both sides. Two are bearded, two were born without beards’. The verse is sometimes attributed to Albertus Magnus, who first described the structure of the calyx of the rose, but it is not included in his description.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [noun] > parts of > calyx > sepal(s)
five brothers (of the rose)1578
supporter1626
impaler1672
pale1682
leaflet1785
sepal1829
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball vi. i. 655 The fiue litle leaues whiche stande rounde about the bud, or the beginning of Roses, are called in Latine, Cortices Rosarum..: some do also cal them, the fiue brothers of the Roses, wherof, as is beforesayd, two haue beardes, and two haue none, and the fifth hath but halfe a one.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §590 We see also, that the Sockets, and Supporters of Flowers, are Figured; As in the Fiue Brethren of the Rose; Sockets of Gillyflowers, &c.
1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus iii, in Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall 140 But nothing is more admired then the five Brethren of the Rose, and the strange disposure of the Appendices or Beards, in the calicular leaves thereof.
a1807 Britannic Mag. 10 47/1 Five brothers at one birth a beauty bore; Two had good beards, two other no beards wore; But strange indeed was the fifth brother's case, Whose beard grew but on one side of his face.
1876 All Year Round 16 Dec. 320/2 Any one ignorant..of the singular structure of a rosebud, with its calyx of narrow leaves, would try in vain to solve the following: Five brothers there are, Born at once of their mother; Two bearded, two bare, The fifth neither one nor the other.
1965 W. T. Stearn in Huntia 2 181 The five brothers are, in short, the five sepals of Rosa canina and other dog-roses.
1999 P. Bernhardt Rose's Kiss i. 13 Two sepals will have edges that break up into tiny, flattened ‘whiskers’. They are the bearded brothers... The brother with only half a beard has one smooth edge and one whiskery edge.
B. int. colloquial (chiefly North American).
Expressing surprise, excitement, appreciation, disbelief, etc., or used to give emphasis to a following statement. Frequently in oh brother!
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]
whatOE
well, wellOE
avoyc1300
ouc1300
ay1340
lorda1393
ahaa1400
hillaa1400
whannowc1450
wow1513
why?1520
heydaya1529
ah1538
ah me!a1547
fore me!a1547
o me!a1547
what the (also a) goodyear1570
precious coals1576
Lord have mercy (on us)1581
good heavens1588
whau1589
coads1590
ay me!1591
my stars!a1593
Gods me1595
law1598
Godso1600
to go out1600
coads-nigs1608
for mercy!a1616
good stars!1615
mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616
gramercy1617
goodness1623
what next?1662
mon Dieu1665
heugh1668
criminy1681
Lawd1696
the dickens1697
(God, etc.) bless my heart1704
alackaday1705
(for) mercy's sake!1707
my1707
deuce1710
gracious1712
goodly and gracious1713
my word1722
my stars and garters!1758
lawka1774
losha1779
Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784
great guns!1795
mein Gott1795
Dear me!1805
fancy1813
well, I'm sure!1815
massy1817
Dear, dear!1818
to get off1818
laws1824
Mamma mia1824
by crikey1826
wisha1826
alleleu1829
crackey1830
Madonna mia1830
indeed1834
to go on1835
snakes1839
Jerusalem1840
sapristi1840
oh my days1841
tear and ages1841
what (why, etc.) in time?1844
sakes alive!1846
gee willikers1847
to get away1847
well, to be sure!1847
gee1851
Great Scott1852
holy mackerel!1855
doggone1857
lawsy1868
my wig(s)!1871
gee whiz1872
crimes1874
yoicks1881
Christmas1882
hully gee1895
'ullo1895
my hat!1899
good (also great) grief!1900
strike me pink!1902
oo-er1909
what do you know?1909
cripes1910
coo1911
zowiec1913
can you tie that?1918
hot diggety1924
yeow1924
ziggety1924
stone (or stiffen) the crows1930
hullo1931
tiens1932
whammo1932
po po po1936
how about that?1939
hallo1942
brother1945
tie that!1948
surprise1953
wowee1963
yikes1971
never1974
to sod off1976
whee1978
mercy1986
yipes1989
1945 Life 3 Sept. 4 Oh, brother!! What a gal is Gail Sullivan!
1953 Manch. Guardian Weekly 20 Aug. 7 Never did learn to spell it. But, brother, I drank it.
1969 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 9 Nov. 6/3 Then when you think you've got used to mountain roads you hit one like the Seton–Darcy road. Oh Brother!
1985 Toronto Sun 10 Oct. 42/1 And brother, when Elsie decides to ‘bake’ her..Cheese Cake it's a doozy of a winner.
2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 159 I ain't saying forty-three is old, but oh brother is he a slugger.
Phrases
P1. brother in arms and variants: a soldier, knight, etc., considered in relation to another or others, as combatants on the same side, or for the same cause; a fellow soldier, knight, etc. Also figurative. [Compare post-classical Latin frater in armis (1461 in a British source).]
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > [noun] > fellow-soldier
gadlingOE
sword-brotherc1275
companionc1325
companion-in-arms1525
fellow soldier1526
commilitant1577
camarada1598
fore-fellows1598
commilitoa1614
brother in arms1632
comrade-in-arms1848
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 2 Two brethern of armes. [No corresponding passage in the French original.]
1632 P. Massinger Maid of Honour v. ii. sig. L4v Once more brothers in armes.
1685 E. Philipps Minority St. Lewis 54 He entred into the Earl of Boulogne's Party, and drew along with him his Brother of Arms, Hugo de Dampmartin.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 212 That doughty burgher is Henry's brother-at-arms.
1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. I. iv. 377 His friend and brother in arms, the illustrious Randolph.
1840 Fraser's Mag. 21 315 The two knights defend each other, as sworn brethren-at-arms.
1918 N.Y. Med. Jrnl. 6 Apr. 658/1 The danger of our boys carrying the virus of gum chewing to their brothers in arms of other nations and customs.
1945 Billboard 3 Nov. 70/2 Let's all do a good job now and help every one of these men back to normal life... We owe all that we have today to them and their brothers-at-arms.
2011 Daily Tel. 18 July 18/4 The Chelsea Pensioners..and their dead brothers-in-arms commemorated by the Cenotaph, fought for his freedom to protest.
P2. to be one's brother's keeper and variants: to be responsible or concerned for the welfare of a relative, friend, or people in general. With allusion to Genesis 4:9, in which Cain responds to God when asked the whereabouts of the murdered Abel, ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’ (see, e.g., quots. a1382 and 1530).
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. iv. 9 Caym..answerde: ‘I wote neuer wheþer am I þe keper of my broþer?’
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Gen. iv. f. vv And ye Lorde sayd vnto Cain: where is Abell thy brother: And he sayd: I can not tell, am I my brothers keper?]
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (iii. 12) 728 Now with what ioy can he giue vp his accounts, who with the hireling hath left his people to the wolfe..he is none of his brothers keeper.
1693 E. Pelling Pract. Disc. Charity viii. 156 This is Christian Charity indeed, to become ones Brother's Keeper.
1743 W. Allen Serm. at Assizes Kingston upon Thames 8 For in this Sense every Man is properly his Brother's Keeper.
1837 Western Messenger Oct. 86 Man in the hours of long continued prosperity, self-confident, self-devoted, self-indulged—forgets that he is his brother's keeper.
1913 Rotarian Sept. 22 The business man of a generation ago was wont to exclaim, ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’ confident that this rhetorical inquiry was a complete answer to the call of duty; to-day, the expression has lost its interrogatory form, and men have come to say, ‘I am my brother's keeper.’
1972 M. Shadbolt Strangers & Journeys viii. 113 I am obviously not my brother's keeper. I cannot be expected to account for him.
1991 U.S. News & World Rep. 27 May 11/2 The selfishness of an isolationist ‘peace’ movement is diametrically opposed to the classic liberal belief that we are our brother's keeper.
P3. brother of the angle: a (fellow) angler.
ΚΠ
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler i. 5 I am a Brother of the Angle . View more context for this quotation
1696 J. Smith True Art Angling (title page) By J. S. Gent. A Brother of the Angle.
1831 Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 10 Dec. 4/4 For the information of brothers of the angle.., I am induced to make the following extracts from some hasty notes..on my return from several trout fishing excursions in this neighbourhood.
1883 Builder 21 July 68/3 While very young [he] became an ardent brother of the angle.
1908 D. H. M. Read Highways & Byways in Hampshire xiv. 226 The peaceful water meadows are connected with brothers of the angle and their gentle art.
2009 Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.) (Nexis) 6 Mar. I have one friendship that began with casual conversation in the fly shop that has evolved into dozens of road trips. Kindred spirits are we brothers of the angle.
P4. historical. Brethren of the Free Spirit (also Brothers of the Free Spirit): a 13th–14th cent. Western European Christian movement whose members believed that perfect union with God freed the individual from the need to observe conventional moral norms. [After post-classical Latin fratres liberi spiritus (c1318 in a bull of Pope John XXII, or earlier).]
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > other sects and movements > Brethren > [noun]
Brethren of the Free Spirit1765
1765 A. Maclaine tr. J. L. Mosheim Eccles. Hist. I. iii. 757 The death of this person was highly detrimental to the affairs of the Brethren of the free spirit.
1879 Leisure Hour 15 Feb. 108/1 There was mutiny in the very camp of the Papacy. The Fratricelli as a separatist branch of the Franciscan Order in Italy and Spain; the ‘Brothers of the Free Spirit’, a body accused of Pantheistic and Communistic tendencies in Germany and Flanders.
1899 A. H. Newman Man. Church Hist. (1900) I. iv. iii. 557 The Brethren of the Free Spirit are not accurately distinguished in mediæval writings from the Amalricians and the Beghards.
1967 H. Kaminsky Hist. Hussite Revol. vii. 352 The Brethren of the Free Spirit..constituted the form of Joachitism most likely to have influenced the Hussites.
2014 M. Tausiet in T. G. Fehler et al. Relig. Diaspora in Early Mod. Europe viii. 110 The so-called ‘Brethren of the Free Spirit’, a supposed sect with a presence in Flanders and the Rhineland.
P5. a man and (a) brother: a person considered as a fellow member of the human race and thus deserving of equal rights; cf. man-and-brotherism n.The motto ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ originally appeared on the seal of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade under a depiction of a kneeling slave in chains. The design was approved by a Committee of the Society on 16 October 1787 and was later used on a cameo medallion, black on white, produced by Josiah Wedgwood, which became extremely popular as a personal ornament.
ΚΠ
1787 Fair Minute Bks. Comm. Abolition Slave-trade I. (BL MS Add. 21254) 16 Oct. f. 16v Joseph Woods..on the Subject of a Seal for this Committee brought in a Specimen of a Design for the same, expressive of an African in Chains in a supplicating Posture with this Motto ‘Am I not a Man & a Brother’.
1835 J. Montgomery Songs on Abolition of Negro Slavery in Wesleyan-Methodist Mag. May 399/2 The Negro wakes to liberty..Read the great charter on his brow, ‘I am a man, a brother now.’
1874 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera IV. xxxviii. 39 With all the liberality of republican Europe rejoicing in his dignities as a man and a brother.
1923 Elevator Constructor Apr. (verso front cover) If you treat him fair, like a Man and a Brother, He isn't any Problem, at all!
1965 Negro Digest Oct. 11/1 Am I not a soldier, a man and a brother? Not if you are black, America answered.
2011 C. J. Trotman Frederick Douglass iv. 82 He..judged it [sc. the Liberty Party] to be exactly in the right place, at the right time, and with the right moral tone, which to Frederick meant that they saw the slave as both a man and a brother.
P6. U.S. slang (chiefly in African-American usage). brother from another mother: a very close male friend. See also sister from another mister n. at sister n. Phrases 5.
ΚΠ
1989 B. M. Hamlin Beware Mushroom Man (verso title page) For my brother from another mother: Andrew Jones.
1998 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) (Electronic ed.) 16 Oct. The album is the third released by Fat Joe and by far the best. Aided by his brother from another mother, Big Punisher, and the rest of the Terror Squad.
2001 N.Y. Times 23 Dec. b6 He used to introduce me as his brother from another mother. I was proud of that.
2007 N.Y. Mag. 11 June 75/1 ‘Brother from another mother’ is how the heroin-addicted surfer Butchie Yost..describes John.
2012 Victorville (Calif.) Daily Press 6 Oct. 82/2 Randy has many people who consider him their good friend, but none so close as Mike..who called him ‘his brother from another mother’.
Compounds
C1.
a. Appositive, chiefly with the sense ‘fellow’.
(a) With plural forms with -n, as brethren (cf. ζ. forms).
ΚΠ
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 456 (MED) Neiþer hise owne briþeren apostlis token such ensaumple of hym at þat tyme.
1504 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1504 §29. m. 23 The mayre..wyth his brethern aldermen.
1670 I. Walton Life R. Hooker 96 in Lives His Brethren Ministers of the Low Countreys.
1703 L. Smith Evid. Things not Seen (ed. 2) 77 By we in the first cited Text, St. Paul means the Souls of him and his Brethren Believers.
1820 J. Keats Hyperion: a Fragm. ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 176 Tell me, all ye brethren Gods, How we can war.
1911 Jrnl. Presbyterian Hist. Soc. Sept. 76 It is a very proper thing that Baptists should join with their brethren Protestants.
2000 B. Horn & M. Wyczynski in B. Horn & S. J. Harris Warrior Chiefs (2001) vii. 146 His attempts at ‘contributing’ were not welcomed by many of his brethren officers.
(b) With singular form.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a companion or associate > [adjective]
fellow1550
companiona1593
brother1593
1593 T. Bell Motives Romish Faith ii. viii. 106 What holy amitie is betweene the Iesuite Mushe, and other seminarie-priestes..his brother priestes will witnesse with me.
1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. C Manie of his brother knights.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 122 Your Brother Kings and Monarchs of the Earth. View more context for this quotation
1694 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) ii. xxvii. 186 To punish one Twin for what his Brother-Twin did.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xi. 300 Two brother heroes shall from thee be born.
1730 D. Lewis et al. Misc. Poems 285 Thee who shall praise? Except by Sirius, or his Brother Star Haply inspir'd?
1793 R. Burns Poems (ed. 2) II. 219 Land o' Cakes, and brither Scots.
1837 B. Disraeli Venetia I. 158 An esteemed neighbour and a brother magistrate.
1844 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 16 Nov. 316/2 All kinds of information..about the proceedings of his brother Russians absent from their country like himself.
1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour ii. 17 The substitution..of iron, in the stead of its elder brother-metal, bronze.
1951 Sport 7 Jan. 10/1 Usually brother-professionals can get a quick idea of his style of play by the way he moves.
2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 13 July 27 A brother officer in the jeep ahead of him was killed by a landmine.
b. General attributive and objective.
brother-hater n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > [noun] > one who hates > one who hates his brother
brother-hater1632
1632 J. Vicars tr. Virgil XII Aeneids vi. 175 Here brother-haters whiles they liv'd, I saw; Parents despisers, cheaters of just law.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Blessed are ye that Sow 11 Of many and various sorts are the brother-haters.
2005 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 11 Nov. w4 Walter..age 10, is a baseball lover and a brother hater. In his eyes, little bro Danny is no fun.
brother slaughter n. [compare Old English brōþorsliht (compare sleight n.2)]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > killing of type of person > [noun] > of relative > of brother
brother slaughterc1480
fratricide1569
c1480 (a1400) St. Paul l. 457 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 42 Þai..throw browthir slawchtir can þe file.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. f. 11 Did brotherslaughter seme to the Patriarches a lawfull thyng?
1999 W. E. McDonald Thomas Mann's Joseph & his Brothers ii. 68 Eliphaz..may..break the pattern of brother slaughter that would make Esau forever Cain.
brother-slayer n. [originally after classical Latin frātricīda fratricide n.1; compare Old English brōþorslaga, Old High German bruodersleggo]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > killer for specific reason or type of person > [noun] > of relatives > of brother
fratricidec1450
brother-slayer?c1475
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 19 A Brodyr slaer, fratricida.
1872 Ld. Tennyson Last Tournament in Gareth & Lynette 94 The skeleton of a brother-slayer.
2008 Daily Star (Nexis) 26 Apr. 2 Notorious patients who may be switched to jails if the strike goes ahead include..brother slayer Michael Clark.
brother worship n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of a brother
brother worship1864
1864 Chambers's Jrnl. 31 Dec. 838 Brother-worship is natural to sisters—when young.
1991 W. R. Jacobs Francis Parkman i. 7 That he was the object of ‘brother worship’ was not unlikely.
c. Instrumental.† brother forsaken adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1676 E. Coles Eng. Dict. Ahitophel, Brother forsaken, he hanged himself.
C2. Compounds with simple unmarked genitive.Compare discussion of the unmarked genitive and its relevance to compounds in the etymology.† brother daughter n. Obsolete (Scottish in later use) a brother's daughter; a niece. [Compare Old Swedish brōþordottir (Swedish †broderdotter).] † brother deed n. Obsolete rare a brother's action; behaviour befitting a brother.† brother wife n. Obsolete a brother's wife; a sister-in-law.
brother bairn n. Scottish in later use (a) a brother's child, a nephew or niece; (b) an uncle's child, a cousin. [Compare Old Frisian brōtherbern.]
ΚΠ
OE Beowulf (2008) 2619 Onela..no ymbe ða fæhðe spræc, þeah ðe he his broðor bearn abredwade.
c1275 ( Will of Wulfsige (Sawyer 1537) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 74 Habbe Stanhand alle þinge þe ic him bicueðen habbe, and mine brother bern here owen lond.
1530 Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes f. 114 Jok Bell..his sonis, brethir, and brethir barnis.
1620 in W. Fraser Chiefs of Grant (1883) III. 320 To dispone the samen to thair..brether barneis.
1869 G. Hill Montgomery Manuscripts i. 100/1 There was no one to whom the expression ‘brother bairns’ could apply, save to the children of captain Alexander Montgomery.
1936 J. Henderson in Sc. National Dict. (1941) II. 273/3 [Caithness] He's ma brither-bairn [i.e. uncle's son], bit a'll no heyl 'im.
1991 I. Sutherland Caithness Dict. 14 Brither bairn, cousin.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > niece
nifteOE
brother daughterOE
niecec1325
nephewa1513
niggie1868
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 136 His broðor dohtor eft siððan on Myrcan wearð cwen.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 1197 (MED) This Lord..of hir fader themperour His brother doughter hath to wyve.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 19 A Broderson, fraternus. A Broderdoghter, fraterna. A Brodyr wiffe, fratria.
1565 Edinb. Burgh Deeds f. 162, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue Marioun Scot my brother douchter.
1688 W. Scot True Hist. Families 68 George of Bon-raw married was, To Dowglas a Brother daughter of Cavers.
a1899 D. Nicolson MS Coll. Caithness Words in Eng. Dial. Dict.: Suppl. (1905) at Brither Brither-dochter, a niece.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > [noun] > act of kindness > brotherly
brother deeda1400
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3750 Fader, þis was na broþer dede.
brother son n. Scottish in later use a brother's son; a nephew. [Compare Old Frisian brōthersune, Old Saxon brōtharson (Middle Low German brōdersȫne), Old High German bruodersun (Middle High German bruodersun), Old Swedish brōþorson (Swedish †broderson).]
ΚΠ
OE Genesis A (1931) 1800 Beorn bliðemod and his broðor sunu forð oferforan folcmæro land eastan mid æhtum.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2364 Ta loth þi broþer sun in hand, To chanaan ȝee most now drau.
a1500 (a1400) Ipomedon (Chetham) (1889) l. 35 (MED) A brother son had hee.
1642 in D. Littlejohn Rec. Sheriff Court Aberdeenshire (1907) III. 6 [By the present decree the former one was transferred] in the persone of the said defendar passive as air maill to the said umquhill Alexr. Irving his father's brother sone.
1748 R. Forbes tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 7 It's well kent Achilles was My father's brither sin.
1898 J. Burgess Tang 15 Dis is a bridder-son o Willa's, sir.
1907 D. B. Nicolson in County Caithness 66 'Ey wir a' in ae carrywattle on ma brither-sin's shillin' hillag.
1991 K. Armstrong in T. Hubbard New Makars 114 Says her brither-son, in the mercat toun, Wi a smilin, three-years' bride, Affen we've axed her, wid she no come doon Tae us tae bide.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) i. xvi. 68 & steopmodrum & broðorwiifum [L. cognatis] ac þæt alyfed is, þæt heo moten in gesinscipe gegadrode beon?
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19851 Ne birrþ þe nohht tin broþerr wiff Þuss habbenn þe to wife.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 796 (MED) Herodes..toke his brother [v.rr. brothre, brotheris, brothirs] wyf.
C3. † brother-house n. Obsolete a house or building inhabited by members of a male religious order. [Perhaps compare the place name Brotherhous, Lincolnshire (1316; 1337 as le Brotherhous, now Brotherhouse Bar), although the first element of this name may rather show either the cognate Scandinavian noun or a forename derived from it.] † brother quill n. Obsolete a (fellow) writer; cf. brother brush n.
brother-and-sister adj. attributive relating to or involving a brother and sister; consisting of a brother and sister.
ΚΠ
1808 H. More Cœlebs in Search of Wife II. xlii. 350 The childish brother and sister sort of intimacy was not the most promising mode for the development of your mutual sentiments.
1846 Universalist Union 25 Apr. 382/2 The charming Carlinde immediately appeared, led by the brother and sister pair through a secret passage of the mountain.
1910 Man 10 124 I may mention that cases occasionally came up in the courts of brother and sister incest.
1991 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. h26/3 How easy it was to revile the Carpenters. In the 70's, this brother-and-sister duo went against the grain of any self-respecting rock-and-roller.
2012 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 7 Sept. The property was renovated by brother-and-sister team Ben Crawford, 31, and Libby, 29.
brother brush n. a (fellow) artist; cf. brother quill n.
ΚΠ
1735 S. Cobb tr. J. de la Fontaine Saddle in tr. J. de la Fontaine Tales & Novels in Verse 151 Comes Brother Brush to take a Bout So, God knows how! they rubb'd it out. but, as he was an honest Brother, Finding one gone, he drew another.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 3 May 4/1 The celebrity of both artists—brother-brushes in the closest sense of the term.
1919 Smith's Weekly (Sydney) 19 Apr. 18/1 A certain Sydney artist received in an altercation with a brother-brush a hefty stouch on the eye.
2014 J. Ayres Art, Artisans & Apprentices ix. 155 Rather touchingly when working for a ‘brother brush’ he offered a ten per cent discount.
brother consanguinean n. now historical and rare a man or boy sharing a father, but not a mother, with another person; a half-brother on the father's side; cf. brother uterine n., brother-german n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > [noun] > half-brother > by same father
brother consanguinean1731
brother-german1866
1731 A. Bayne Notes for Students Munic. Law iii. 143 The first Place in the Order of Succession is given to Sons; the second, to Daughters; the third, to Brothers german; the fourth, to Sisters german; the fifth, to Brothers consanguinean; the sixth, to Sisters consanguinean.
1880 J. Muirhead tr. Gaius Institutes iii. 177 Brothers born of the same father, often called brothers-consanguinean, are each other's agnates.
1993 H. L. MacQueen Common Law & Feudal Society in Medieval Scotl. 174 A brother consanguinean—that is, of the same father but another mother—could be postponed until after the death of his half-sister.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > other types of dwelling > [noun] > communal dwelling
brother-house1547
phalanstery1850
familistère1865
familistery1865
longhouse1866
1547 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 256 To everie one of the susters in the suster house xij d., and to everie one of the brether in the brother house xij d.
1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. IV. 470 The brother-house [Ger. Frater-Haus], which a Lutheran father, who is ordained, inhabits.
1883 Contemp. Rev. Oct. 491 Their brother-houses and schools were soon found in most of the chief cities of the Netherlands.
brother-law n. [shortened < brother-in-law n.; compare earlier father-law n.] = brother-in-law n.; colloquial in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > [noun] > brother-in-law
odamOE
brothera1375
brother-in-lawa1375
good-brother1487
brother-law?1583
levir1865
?1583 tr. A. de Bazán Relation Expongnable Attempt & Conquest Tercera sig. C4v Monsiur de chattres..cosin vnto the Duke of Ioyosa, & brother lawe vnto the king of Fraunce.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads xxiv. 383 Hector, said she, Whom best I lov'd of all my Brother-laws.
1872 T. Hardy Under Greenwood Tree II. v. i. 184 Ye should hear Clerk Wilkins, my brother-law, tell his experiences in marrying couples these last thirty years.
2011 L. B. Pridgeon Blood-stained Victory 205 Aunt Bernice received a phone call that her brother-law had a sudden heartache and died.
brother love n. love for one's brother; love or fellow feeling between people; cf. brotherly love at brotherly adj. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > love between kinsmen > brotherly love
brotherly loveeOE
brother loveOE
philadelphya1677
lovey-dovey1946
OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 28 Fratres.., simus induti lorica fidei et caritatis : broð'..ue sie gigearwad byrne gileafes & broðerlufu'.
c1480 (a1400) St. Cecilia 412 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 380 Bruthire lufe betwene ȝou twa.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 206 With a true heart, And Brother-loue . View more context for this quotation
1838 J. S. Knowles Woman's Wit v. ii. 107 Such a brother-love, as brother never..for brother felt before!
1890 Menorah June 320 Though aliens from our native land, Strangers in every clime, Our Brother-love doth ever show Our origin divine.
2003 A. N. LeBlanc Random Family xii. 117 Lourdes felt that the boys' friendship fulfilled a lack of brother love.
ΚΠ
1748 J. M. Scelus's Ghost 9 But I maste haste to yonder Town,..A Brother Quill to warn.
1904 W. F. Waugh Houseboat Bk. ix. 75 This morning we had a visit from a bright young reporter from an Alton paper... The first brother quill we had met.
brother–sister adj. attributive relating to or involving a brother and sister; consisting of a brother and sister.
ΚΠ
1897 K. Pearson Chances of Death II. xi. 104 I cannot now enter upon the causes which led to the termination of the brother-sister sexual relation.
1910 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 21 108 The characteristics that constitute the Father-daughter complex are found in a similar one, the Brother-sister complex.
1997 Village Voice (N.Y.) 27 May 125/4 Stephanie Childs..is the sister of Knicks guard Chris Childs. Might they make the first brother-sister act in professional basketball?
brother uterine n. [after post-classical Latin frater uterinus (Vulgate; also uterinus frater)] a man or boy sharing a mother, but not a father, with another person; a half-brother on the mother's side; cf. brother consanguinean n., brother-german n.
ΚΠ
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 295 (MED) Medardus the confessor, and Gildardus byschop Rotomagense, were in this tyme, bothe breþer uteryne, borne in oon day.
1605 G. Buck Daphnis Polystephanos sig. A4 Hee had Edmond creaeted Earle of Richmond by King Henry the sixt, his brother vterine.
1764 R. Douglas Peerage Scotl. 55/1 John earl of Athole, brother uterine to King James II.
1887 Lucifer 15 Nov. 220 The lads who were not brothers uterine were made brothers of the Totem at what was termed the festival of young-man-making.
1993 H. L. MacQueen Common Law & Feudal Society in Medieval Scotl. ix. 262 Emma of Smeaton had a brother Nicholas, who might be expected to have had a better claim than she did to the lands unless he was a brother-uterine.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
brotherv.
/ˈbrʌðə/, U.S. /ˈbrəðər/ 1. transitive. Originally and chiefly Scottish. To make a brother of (in various senses of the noun); spec. to admit (a person) into a brotherhood (brotherhood n. 1a). Frequently with in, into, specifying the brotherhood. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [verb (transitive)] > admit to brotherhood
brother1428
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > be brother to [verb (transitive)] > treat as or call brother
brother1428
be-brother1881
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > be brother to [verb (transitive)] > make a brother of
brother1819
1428 in C. Innes & P. Chalmers Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc (1856) II. 59 It is accordit alsua that the said John Vernour sal be brothiryt in the forsaid abbay.
1573 Sege Edinb. Cast. in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 289 Thay ar bowit and bruderit in our band.
1685 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 116 The magistrats..discharges any of the saids wrights and masons..to brother any prenteise till he be yeir and day att the trade.
1789 Times 8 Dec. 2 The question was,—whether Freemen might be admitted into that Borough without having passed through the form of being brothered into one of the eight Guilds of the City.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xiii. 240 This same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother.
a1849 T. L. Beddoes Second Brother ii. ii, in Poems (1851) I. 34 Marcello is my brother; I am his; If coming of one mother brother us.
1887 J. Taylor Curling (ed. 2) 386 Gin they brither'd weemen fo'k, An' ye were ane, I vow, This day I'd tae'n my rifle, Meg, An' no my curlin' kowe.
1987 J. O'Neill in D. P. Verene Vico & Joyce iii. 165 Brothered by their love and hatred of their father's power and cruelty, the sons bonded together to murder him.
2. transitive. To address (a man) as ‘brother’, esp. as a sign of affection or fellowship.
ΚΠ
1587 D. Fenner Def. Godlie Ministers sig. Biv Howe can you brother vs thus in euerie line, and deale so vnbrotherlie with vs in euerie sentence?
1625 A. Cooke Weather-cocke of Romes Relig. 2 In like manner, the Bishops of Constantinople vsed Damasus Bishop of Rome, Brothering him, and Colleaguing him, as they did others, to whom they writ as well as to him.
1706 G. Farquhar Recruiting Officer i. i. 2 No coaxing, no Brothering me, Faith.
1777 D. Garrick Bundle of Prol. in Rev. Eng. Stud. (2007) 58 487 When we have done our Business..you may Brother me as much as you please—'till then I beg that you will address me in the Chair of the Appellation of Mr. Truncheon or Mr. President.
1841 J. Pritts Incidents of Border Life 326 The horseman rode up, holding out his hand and calling out ‘brother! brother!’ in a tone of great affection. Kenton observes that if his gun would have made fire he would have ‘brothered’ him to his heart's content, but being totally unarmed, he called out that he would surrender.
1917 L. M. Montgomery Anne's House of Dreams xxviii. 172 He brothered and sistered everybody. He had a large circle of relations, that man had.
2005 Afr. News (Nexis) 10 May African leaders met, hugged, talked, brothered and sistered each other ad infinitum, sans concrete action.
3. transitive. To be a brother to (a sibling); to act as a brother to (a person), esp. in providing care or protection. Also in †to brother it: to act or behave as a brother (obsolete. rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > act as a brother [verb (intransitive)]
to brother it1611
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > be brother to [verb (transitive)]
brother1611
1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliad xiii. 183 She that brought thee forth, not vtterly left me Without some portion of thy spirit to make me brother thee.
1643 Ld. Herbert Let. in Life (1826) 327 There remains now but you and I to brother it.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. lxii. 230 That admirable Somebody..whose misfortune [is] to be brother'd and sister'd by a couple of creatures, who are not able to comprehend her excellencies.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 27 Sept. 2/1 The experience of those who have personally shepherded, mothered, or brothered ex-prisoners is conclusive.
1913 H. MacGrath Parrot & Co. iv. 57 A great yearning to brother her came into his heart.
1996 W. N. Herbert in H. Ritchie New Sc. Writing 211 Been uncled-an-auntied by thum, bullied An brithered by thum.
2008 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 28 Dec. d2 A son who calmly brothered his siblings, who cooked family dinners..and who adventured with them on Sunday outings into the Missouri woods.
Derivatives
ˈbrothering n. (a) the action of admitting a tradesman, apprentice, etc., into a brotherhood; a ceremony marking this; now historical; (b) the action of addressing a person as a ‘brother’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > love between kinsmen > brotherly love > treating or addressing as (a) brother
brothering1663
1663 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Peebles (1910) 56 Ane evill practicq called be them ‘brothering’.
1819 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) III. 97 By..such brothering and sistering he kept up his influence among his people.
2001 P. Aitchison Children of Sea v. 98 Before a lad was admitted to a boat's crew at the age of ten or eleven, tradition demanded a ‘brothering’.
2009 M. E. DeMuth Daisy Chain v. 30 The hollering people ceased to holler. The brothering and sistering stopped.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.int.eOE
v.1428