frater

¹ American  

[frey-ter] / ˈfreɪ tər /

noun

1. a brother, as in a religious or fraternal order; comrade.

2. a member of a college or university fraternity.

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frater ² American  

[frey-ter] / ˈfreɪ tər /

noun

Ecclesiastical History Obsolete.

1. the refectory of a religious house.

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frater ¹ British  

/ ˈfreɪtə /

noun

1. a mendicant friar or a lay brother in a monastery or priory

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frater ² British  

/ ˈfreɪtə /

noun

1. archaic a refectory

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Etymology

Origin of frater¹

1555–65; < Latin frāter brother

Origin of frater²

1250–1300; Middle English frater, freitour < Old French fraitur, short for refreitor < Late Latin rēfectōrium refectory

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frater

The club members called themselves "friars" after the Latin word for brother, "frater."

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2011

Reluctantly, the Trib shot down the sherif and later sank the frater.

From Time Magazine Archive

The abbess or prioress of a house had separate apartments and it was always a temptation to dine or to sleep alone, instead of keeping the frater and the dorter.

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen

This yard was later purchased by James Burbage when he secured the frater for his playhouse.

From Shakespearean Playhouses A History of English Theatres from the Beginnings to the Restoration by Adams, Joseph Quincy

Margaret and Methven, says Burnet, had a son, ‘made Lord Methven by James V.  In the patent he is called frater noster uterinus’—‘Our brother uterine.’

From James VI and the Gowrie Mystery by Lang, Andrew