brethren

[ breth -rin ]

/ ˈbrɛð rɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brethren ON THESAURUS.COM

plural noun

fellow members.

Archaic. brothers.

Nearby words

bresson, brest, brest litovsk, bretagne, bretelle, brethren, breton, breton lace, breton, andré, bretonneau, brett

Synonym study

1, 2. See brother.

Definition for brethren (2 of 2)

brother

[ bruhth -er or for 9, bruhth -ur ]

/ ˈbrʌð ər or for 9, ˈbrʌðˈɜr /

noun, plural brothers, (Archaic) brethren.

a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling.

Also called half brother. a male offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.

a stepbrother.

a male numbered among the same kinship group, nationality, ethnicity, profession, etc., as another; an associate; a fellow member, fellow countryman, fellow man, etc.: a fraternity brother.

Ecclesiastical.

(often initial capital letter) a male numbered among the lay members of a religious organization that has a priesthood.
a man who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.

brothers, all members of a particular racial or ethnic group, or of the human race in general: All men are brothers.

Slang. fellow; buddy: Brother, can you spare a dime?

Informal. a term used to refer to or address a fellow black man; soul brother.

interjection

Slang. (used to express disappointment, disgust, or surprise).

Origin of brother

before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōthor; cognate with Dutch broeder, German Bruder, Old Norse brōthir, Gothic brothar, Sanskrit bhrātṛ, Greek phrā́tēr, Latin frāter, Old Irish bráthair, OCS bratrŭ

Related forms

broth·er·less, adjectivebroth·er·like, adjective

Synonym study

1. Brothers, brethren are plurals of brother. Brothers are kinsmen, sons of the same parents: My mother lives with my brothers. Brethren, now archaic in the foregoing sense, is used of male members of a congregation or of a fraternal organization: The brethren will meet at the church.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for brethren

It was an open secret, and one that discomfited several of his brethren.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Levels With Us on Why She’s Not Retiring|Jeff Greenfield|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is now sure to become a folk hero among his brethren on high steel.
Hero or Criminal? James Brady, the WTC Ironworker Who Jumped Off the Building|Michael Daly|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cursed be Canaan;  A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
The Story of Noah's Ark From the Bible’s Book of Genesis|The Daily Beast|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
The Story of Noah's Ark From the Bible’s Book of Genesis|The Daily Beast|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The more radical male-separatists can find their brethren at sites such as Men Going Their Own Way.
The Masculine Mystique|R. Tod Kelly|October 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"My brethren, and also my sisteren," he preached in a sermonizing voice.
Six Girls and the Tea Room|Marion Ames Taggart
For he is Saint Oenius, a man of venerable life; and, as the saint prophesied beforehand, he was duly set over the brethren.
The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran|Anonymous
In this extremity Sieys chose as minister of police the old Terrorist Fouch, who best understood how to deal with his brethren.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2|Various
Secondly, a right, before any other man, to inherit with his brethren his father's goods.
Second Treatise of Government|John Locke
Amid powerful difficulties our brethren have not laboured in vain.
Fruits of Toil in the London Missionary Society|Various

British Dictionary definitions for brethren (1 of 2)

brethren

/ (ˈbrɛðrɪn) /

pl n

archaic a plural of brother

fellow members of a religion, sect, society, etc

British Dictionary definitions for brethren (2 of 2)

brother

/ (ˈbrʌðə) /

noun plural brothers or archaic except when referring to fellow members of a religion, sect, society, etc brethren

a male person having the same parents as another person

short for half-brother, stepbrother

a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; fellow member
(as modifier)brother workers

comrade; friend: used as a form of address

Christianity

a member of a male religious order who undertakes work for the order without actually being in holy orders
a lay member of a male religious order

Related adjective: fraternal

interjection

slang an exclamation of amazement, disgust, surprise, disappointment, etc

Word Origin for brother

Old English brōthor; related to Old Norse brōthir, Old High German bruoder, Latin frāter, Greek phratēr, Sanskrit bhrātar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012