brother

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• brotha (Jamaican English)

Etymology

Old English brōþor, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (cf. West Frisian broer, Dutch broeder, German Bruder), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (cf. Irish bráthair, Tocharian A pracar, B procer, Lithuanian brolis).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈbɹʌð.ə/, SAMPA: /"brVD.@/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) enPR: brŭth'ər, IPA: /ˈbɹʌð.ɚ/, SAMPA: /"brVD.@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌðə(r)

Noun

brother (plural brothers or (archaic) brethren)

1. Son of the same parents as another person.

   My parents love me and my brother equally, even though he is adopted.

2. A male child descended from the same parents.

   He's not our biological brother. He's adopted.

3. A male having at least one parent in common with another (see half-brother, stepbrother).
4. A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.
   • Thank you, brother. I would like to thank the brother who just spoke.
5. Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.
6. (African American Vernacular) A black male.

Coordinate terms

• (with regards to gender): sister

Hypernyms

• (son of common parents): sibling

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun "brother"

big brother/Big Brother blood brother bro brother german brother-in-arms brother-in-law Brother Jonathan brothered brotherhood brotherlike brotherly bruv bruvver

Christian Brother co-brother cousin brother/cousin-brother everyone and their brother/everybody and their brother foster brother/foster-brother half brother/half-brother lay brother little brother soul brother stepbrother/step-brother uterine brother Xaverian Brother

Related terms

• friar
• fraternal
• fraternity

Translations

male sibling

Aari: isimanna Afrikaans: broer Akkadian: 𒋀 (aḫu) Albanian: vëlla (sq) Amharic: ወንድም (wändəm) Arabic: أخ (ar) ('akh) m. Aramaic: Syriac: ܐܚܐ (’aħā’) m. Hebrew: אחא (’aħā’) m. Archi: у́шду (úšdu) Armenian: եղբայր (hy) (eġbayr), ախպեր (hy) (axper) Old Armenian: եղբայր (ełbayr) Aromanian: frate Asturian: hermanu (ast) m. Azeri: qardaş (az) Basque: anai (brother of a male), neba (brother of a female) Belarusian: брат (be) (brat) m. Bengali: ভাই (bhai), literary: ভ্রাতা (bhrata) Bosnian: brat (bs) m. Breton: breur m., breudeur pl. Bulgarian: брат (bg) (brat) m. Burmese: အကို (my), (younger brother) ညီကို (my) (nyi ko) Catalan: germà (ca) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 哥哥 (cmn) (gēge) (elder), 弟弟 (cmn) (dìdi) (younger), 兄弟 (cmn) (xiōngdi) (male sibling, brothers: (xiōng-dì)) Min Nan: (older brother) 阿兄 (a-hiaⁿ); (younger brother) 小弟 (sió-tī), (brothers) 兄弟 (hiaⁿ-tī) Teochew: (older brother) a1-hion1; (younger brother) a1-di2 Chinook Jargon: ow, kahpo Coptic: ⲥⲟⲛ (son) Crimean Tatar: (older brother) ağa (northern dialect aqa); (younger brother) qardaş, kadâ (northern dialect mata) Croatian: brȁt (hr) m. Czech: bratr (cs) m. Danish: broder (da) c., bror (da) c. Dutch: broer m., broeder m. (formal) Egyptian: sn Esperanto: frato (eo) Estonian: vend (et), veli (et) Ewe: nɔviŋutsu, (brother), fo (older brother), tsɛ (younger brother) Finnish: veli (fi) French: frère (fr) m. Georgian: ძმა (ka) (jma) German: Bruder (de) m. (1,2,3,4) Gooniyandi: (elder) marna Greek: αδελφός (el) m. (adelfós) Ancient: ἀδελφός (adelphos) m. Gujarati: ભાઈ Haitian Creole: frè Hawaiian: kaikuaʻana Hebrew: אָח (he) (akh) m. Hindi: भाई (hi) (bhāī) m., भ्राता (hi) (bhrātā) m. Hungarian: fivér (hu), báty (hu) (older brother), öcs (hu) (younger brother) Icelandic: bróðir (is) Ido: fratulo (io) Indonesian: saudara laki-laki m. (male sibling), kakak laki-laki/abang m. (elder brother), adik laki-laki m. (younger brother) Interlingua: fratre (ia) Irish: deartháir (ga) m. Istro-Romanian: fråte m. Italian: fratello m. (1,2,3,4), confratello m. (3,4) Jamaican Creole: broda, breda Japanese: 兄弟 (ja) (きょうだい, kyōdai) (male sibling), 兄 (ja) (あに, ani) (elder), お兄さん (ja) (おにいさん, oniisan) (elder, honorific), 弟 (ja) (おとうと, otōto) (younger) Kannada: ಸಹೋದರ (kn) (sahōdara) Karachay-Balkar: (Karachay) къарнаш (qarnaş), (Balkar) къарындаш (qarındaş) Khmer: បងប្រុស (borng bproh) (elder), ប្អូនប្រុស (bpəōn bproh) (younger) Korean: 형제 (ko) (hyeongje), 형님 (ko) (hyeongnim), 오빠 (ko) (obba), 동생 (ko) (dongsaeng), 아우 (ko) (au) Kurdish: برا (ku) Latgalian: bruoļs Latin: frater (la) m. Latvian: brālis m. (1,2,3) Lithuanian: brolis m. (1,2,3)

Livonian: veļ Lojban: bruna Low German: Broder (nds) m., Brauder (nds) m., Broer (nds) m., Bruer (nds) m. Lower Sorbian: bratš m. Luhya: wandaywe Luxembourgish: Brudder (lb) m. Macedonian: брат (mk) (brat) m. Malay: abang (ms) (elder brother), adik lelaki (ms) (younger brother) Malayalam: സഹോദരന്‍ (ml) (sahodaran), (Elder) ചേട്ടന്‍ (ml) (chettan), (Younger) അനിയന്‍ (ml) (aniyan) Maltese: ħu Maori: please add this translation if you can Mazanderani: برار (berâr) Mi'kmaq: nidap Mongolian: ах дүү (ah düü) Navajo: (younger) atsilí, (older) ánaaí Nepali: दाजु (dāju) Norwegian: bror (no) m. Occitan: fraire (oc) m. Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: братръ m. Glagolitic: ⰁⰓⰀⰕⰓⰟ m. Old English: brōþor (ang) m. Old Norse: bróðir m. Old Provençal: frayre Old Prussian: brāti m. Oriya: please add this translation if you can Ossetian: Digor: æнсувæр (ænsuvær), æрвадæ (ærvadæ) Iron: æфсымæр (æfsymær), æрвад (ærvad) Persian: برادر (fa) (barâdar) Phoenician: 𐤀𐤇 (’ḥ) Polabian: brot m. Polish: brat (pl) m. Portuguese: irmão (pt) m. Punjabi: ਵੀਰ Romani: phral m. Kalo Finnish Romani: phal praal Romanian: frate (ro) m. Russian: брат (ru) (brat) m. Samoan: please add this translation if you can Sanskrit: भ्राता (sa) m. Scots: brither, brar Scottish Gaelic: bràthair m. Serbian: Cyrillic: брат (sr) m. Roman: brat (sr) m. Seri: aacaz (younger brother of a female) Sindhi: ڀاءُ m. Sinhalese: (elder) අය්‍යා (si) (ayyā), (younger) මල්‍ලි (si) (malli) Slovak: brat (sk) m. Slovene: brat (sl) m. Spanish: hermano (es) m. Swahili: ndugu (sw), kaka (sw) Swedish: bror (sv) c., broder (sv) c. (older/more formal) Tagalog: kapatid na lalaki, (brother), kuya (older brother), totoy (younger brother) Tajik: бародар (tg) (barodar) Tamil: சகோதரன் (ta) (čakōtaraṉ) Taos: p’ǫ́yna (younger), pòpóna (older) Telugu: సోదరుడు (sōdaruḍu) Thai: พี่ (th) (pêe) (elder), พี่ชาย (th) (pêe chaai) (elder), น้อง (th) (nóng) (younger), น้องชาย (th) (nóng chaai) (younger), ภราดร (th) (páraadon), ภราดา (th) (páraadaa) Tibetan: please add this translation if you can Tigrinya: ሓወ (ti) (ḥawä) Tocharian A: pracar Tocharian B: procer Tongan: tokoua (to), tuonga'ane (to) Turkish: erkek kardeş (tr), kardeş (tr), birader (tr) Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎃 (ảḫ) Ukrainian: брат (uk) (brat) m. Upper Sorbian: bratr m. Urdu: بھائی (ur) (bhāī) m., بھراتا (ur) (bhrātā) m. Vietnamese: anh (vi) or anh trai (vi) (elder), em trai (vi) (younger), em (vi) (younger sibling - brother or sister) Volapük: blod (vo), (♂♀) gem (vo), (♂) higem (vo) Welsh: brawd (cy) West Frisian: broer (fy) Yiddish: ברודער (yi) (bruder) m.

male having parents in common

Afrikaans: broer Armenian: եղբայր (hy) (eġbayr), ախպեր (hy) (axper) Basque: anai (brother of a male), neba (brother of a female) Bosnian: brat (bs) m. Breton: breur m., breudeur pl. Bulgarian: брат (brat) m. (1,3) Catalan: germà (ca) m. Chinese: Teochew: hion1di2 (6) pl. Croatian: brȁt (hr) m. Czech: bratr (cs) m. Danish: broder (da) c., bror (da) c. Dutch: broer m., broeder m. (formal) Eshtehardi: برار (barār) Estonian: vend (et) Ewe: nɔviŋutsu, (brother), fo (older brother), tsɛ (younger brother) Finnish: veli (fi) French: frère (fr) m. German: Bruder (de) m. (1,2,3,4) Greek: αδελφός (el) m. (adelfós) Ancient: ἀδελφός (adelphos) m. Hebrew: אח (akh) m. Hungarian: féltestvér (hu) Interlingua: fratre (ia) Irish: deartháir (ga) m. Italian: fratello (it) m.

Japanese: 兄弟 (きょうだい, kyōdai) Kurdish: برا Latin: frater (la) m. Latvian: brālis m. (1,2,3) Lithuanian: brolis m. (1,2,3) Luxembourgish: Brudder (lb) m. Malayalam: സഹോദരന്‍ (ml) (sahodaran) North Frisian: brouder Old English: brōþor (ang) m. Old Prussian: brāti (biological brother) Persian: برادر (fa) (barâdar) m. Polish: brat (pl) m. Portuguese: irmão (pt) m. Romanian: frate (ro) m. Russian: брат (ru) (brat) m. Scottish Gaelic: bràthair m. Serbian: Cyrillic: брат m. Roman: brat m., plural braća Slovene: brat (sl) m. Spanish: hermano (es) m. Swedish: bror (sv) c., broder (sv) c. (older/more formal) Tocharian A: pracar Tocharian B: procer Tongan: tuonga'ane (to)

male fellow member of a religious community

Armenian: եղբայր (hy) (eġbayr) Bulgarian: брат (bg) m. Croatian: brȁt (hr) m. Dutch: broeder (nl) m. Esperanto: frato (eo) Estonian: vend (et) Finnish: veli (fi) French: frère (fr) m. Greek: αδελφός (el) m. (adelfós) Hungarian: hittestvér (hu) Indonesian: bruder (id) m.

Interlingua: fratre (ia) Irish: bráthair (ga) m. Italian: fratello (it) m., confratello (it) m. Japanese: 修道士 (しゅうどうし, shūdōshi) / ブラザー (burazā) Malay: saudara (ms) Polish: brat (pl) m. Portuguese: frade (pt) m., irmão (pt) m. Spanish: hermano (es) m. Swedish: broder (sv) c. Volapük: (male or female) rodan (vo), (male) hirodan (vo)

peer

Dutch: broeder (nl) m. Esperanto: frato (eo) Estonian: oma (et) Finnish: veli (fi)

French: pair (fr) m., semblable (fr) m. and f. Haitian Creole: frè Italian: fratello (it) m., pari (it)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic أخ (’ax) m. Esperanto: frato Guaraní: kyvy (brother of a female) (1); yvýra (tyvýra/ryvy/ityvýra) (younger brother of a male) (1), yke'y (tyke'y/ryke'y/ityke'y) (elder brother of a male) (1) Interlingua: fratre (1,3) Korean: 형제 (hyeongje) Malay: saudara laki-laki (male sibling), kakak laki-laki/abang (elder brother), adik laki-laki (younger brother) (1), bruder (3) Marathi: भाऊ (bhāu) Mi'kmaq: nidap Norwegian: bror (1), lillebror (little brother) (1), storebror (big brother) (1), Broder (older form/formal), stebror (stepbrother) (2), halvbror (half-brother) (2) Persian: بَرادَر (bærādær) Sanskrit: बंधू (bandhu) Telugu: సోదరుడు (te) (soodaruddu), అన్న (te) (anna), అన్నయ్య (te) (annayya, elder brother); తమ్ముడు (te) (tammuddu, younger brother) Tupinambá: kybyra (brother of a female) (1); ybyra (t-, t-) (younger brother of a male), yke'yra (t-, t-) (elder brother of a male) Vietnamese: anh, em (younger) (1,2) Welsh: brawd m. Xhosa: bhuti

Usage notes

The plural "brethren" tends to be used more in broader senses than in familial ones.

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To treat as a brother.
   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
   • Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother?

Translations

to treat as a brother

Finnish: veljeillä (fi) French: fraterniser (fr)

Norwegian: brors (no)

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: deep · meet · interest · #473: brother · I've · longer · paid

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Middle English

Etymology

Old English brōþor

Noun

brother (plural brothers)

1. brother