frater

[ frey-ter ]

/ ˈfreɪ tər /

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noun

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

a member of a college or university fraternity.

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Origin of frater

1555–65; <Latin frāterbrother

Words nearby frater

Fraser, frass, frat, fratch, fratching, frater, fraternal, fraternal insurance, fraternal society, fraternal twin, fraternity

Other definitions for frater (2 of 2)

frater²

[ frey-ter ]

/ ˈfreɪ tər /

noun Ecclesiastical History Obsolete.

the refectory of a religious house.

Also fratry.

Origin of frater

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use frater in a sentence

Uncle Jack was not much of a scholar, but he knew enough Latin to answer, "Salve tantundem, mi frater."
The Caxtons, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Praefectus praesidii Tarentini deperibat amore mulierculae, cuius frater in exercitu Fabii erat.
Selections from Viri Romae|Charles Franois L'Homond
In the first of these letters Seneca hopes his brother Paul is well: "Bene te valere, frater, cupio."
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 3 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
The refectory, sometimes called the fratry or frater-house, was the common hall for all conventual meals.
English Monastic Life|Abbot Gasquet

Ecce, ego idcirco vocavi te, frater carissime, ut exemplo mei talia discas operari.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton

British Dictionary definitions for frater (1 of 2)

frater¹

/ (ˈfreɪtə) /

noun

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

Word Origin for frater

C16: from Latin: brother

British Dictionary definitions for frater (2 of 2)

frater²

/ (ˈfreɪtə) /

noun

archaic a refectory

Word Origin for frater

C13: from Old French fraiteur, aphetic variant of refreitor, from Late Latin rēfectōrium refectory

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