Of or like a brother or brothers; relating to a fraternity; (of twins) developed from separate eggs and therefore not identical.
The Full Story
Latin15th centurywell-attested
From Medieval Latin "frāternālis," from Latin "frāternus" ("brotherly"), from "frāter" ("brother"), from PIE *bʰréh₂tēr ("brother"), one of the most stable and well-attested kinship terms in the Indo-European family. The PIE form is preserved with remarkable fidelity across nearly every branch: Sanskrit "bhrā́tar-," Avestan "brātar-," OldPersian "brātar-," Greek "φράτηρ" (phrātēr, "member of a clan"), Old Irish "bráthair," Old English "brōþor" (yielding "brother"), Old Norse "bróðir," Gothic "broþar," Old Church Slavonic "bratrŭ," Lithuanian "broterelis," and Tocharian B "pracer." TheGreek
Did you know?
Theword 'friar' (as in Friar Tuck) comes from the same Latin root as 'fraternal.' A friar is literally a 'brother' — a member of a mendicantreligious order who addressed fellow members as 'frater' (brother). The difference between a monk and a friar is that monks live in