fraternal
[fruh-tur-nl]
- of or befitting a brother or brothers; brotherly.
- of or being a society of men associated in brotherly union, as for mutual aid or benefit: a fraternal order; a fraternal association.
Show More
Origin of fraternal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fraternal
Contemporary Examples
In hindsight, however, he feels that the suspension has “had a positive impact on the fraternal community.”
How many people get called by the Fraternal Order of the Police and say no?
The nonvoters include 16 experts, eight fraternal delegates and 38 auditors of whom 12 are married couples.
This was more than just the fraternal bond between firefighters and police officers; this was family.
He was also the local president of the Union League, a fraternal organization closely aligned with the Republican Party.
Historical Examples
It is as if there were now but one and the same soil, reconciled and fraternal.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
It seems probable that fraternal polyandry must formerly have been practised.
The Truth About WomanC. Gasquoine Hartley
A burst of fraternal feverishness made him eager to get to it.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
Fraternal affection was banished the halls of Castle Feracht.
Fraternal to the last, he left her for the quieter company of Mrs. Munt.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
fraternal
- of or suitable to a brother; brotherly
- of or relating to a fraternity
- designating either or both of a pair of twins of the same or opposite sex that developed from two separate fertilized ovaCompare identical (def. 3)
Show More
Word Origin
C15: from Latin frāternus, from frāter brother
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
Word Origin and History for fraternal
adj.
early 15c., from Middle French fraternel and directly from Medieval Latin fraternalis, from Latin fraternus "brotherly" (see fraternity). The noun meaning "fraternal twin" is recorded by 1911.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fraternal
(frə-tûr′nəl)- Of or relating to brothers.
- Of, relating to, or being a twin developed from two separately fertilized ova; dizygotic.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.