brother-in-law

American  

[bruhth-er-in-law] / ˈbrʌð ər ɪnˌlɔ /

noun

plural

brothers-in-law

1. the brother of one's spouse.

2. the husband of one's sister or brother.

3. the husband of one's spouse's sister or brother.

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brother-in-law British  

noun

1. the brother of one's wife or husband

2. the husband of one's sister

3. the husband of the sister of one's husband or wife

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Etymology

Origin of brother-in-law

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brother in law(e); brother, in, law ¹; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins

Example Sentences

Each year on the first night of Hanukkah, Goldstein waits for a call from his brother-in-law where they wish each other well on the holiday and chat about their respective lighting ceremonies.

From Los Angeles Times

"The family broke. They are falling apart," his brother-in-law Rabbi Mendel Kastel told reporters after a sleepless night.

From BBC

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are newlyweds and organizing the trip, and at every family gathering they bring it up.

From MarketWatch

When the narrator’s brother-in-law speaks too frankly, she reflects that what he said “was true, but I didn’t think it was right for him to say it.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It followed a widowed father named Danny who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse and best friend Joey to help him raise his three daughters after his wife's death.

From BBC

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• niece
• sibling
• uncle