brethren

English

Etymology

From Early Modern English brethren (plural of brother), from Middle English brethere, brether + -en (plural ending), alteration, due to Old English brēþer (dative singular), of Old English brōþor, brōþru (“brothers, brethren”). Compare German Brüder (“brothers, brethren”). More at brother. The vowel change from o to e is called umlaut.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbrɛðrən/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

brethren

1. (archaic) plural of brother
2. (figuratively) the body of members, especially of a fraternal, religious or military order

Usage notes

The plural "brethren" is generally used for members of an organization, especially a religious body, whereas the plural "brothers" is used in the familial sense as well as for larger groups.

Translations

the body of members

• Danish: broder (da) c
• French: confrères (fr) m pl, frères (fr) m pl
• German: Brüder (de) m, Brüdergemeinschaft f
• Greek: αδελφότητα f (adelfótita), αδελφοί m pl (adelfoí)
• Italian: confratelli
• Japanese: 同胞 (ja) (dōhō)

• Polish: bractwo n
• Portuguese: confraria (pt) f, confrade (pt) m
• Russian: братство (ru) (bratstvo)
• Spanish: hermanos (es) pl
• Swedish: bröder (sv) pl

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

• Catalan: germans pl
• Dutch: broeders (nl) pl
• Galician: irmáns pl
• Hebrew: אחים לדת pl

• Interlingua: fratres pl
• Portuguese: irmãos (pt) pl

See also

• Brethren
• brother
• sistren and nun
• friar and frater or father
• brotherhood, sisterhood
• fraternity
• siblings