Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

fraternal

[fruh-tur-nl]
adjective
  1. of or befitting a brother or brothers; brotherly.
  2. 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

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin frātern(us) fraternal (derivative of frāter brother) + -al1
Related formsfra·ter·nal·ism, nounfra·ter·nal·ly, adverbin·ter·fra·ter·nal, adjectivein·ter·fra·ter·nal·ly, adverbnon·fra·ter·nal, adjectivenon·fra·ter·nal·ly, adverbpre·fra·ter·nal, adjectivepre·fra·ter·nal·ly, adverbqua·si-fra·ter·nal, adjectivequa·si-fra·ter·nal·ly, adverbun·fra·ter·nal, adjectiveun·fra·ter·nal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fraternally

Historical Examples

  • The customary "Dear brother" and "Fraternally yours" were omitted.

    The Plastic Age

    Percy Marks

  • "Nina isn't going to have more than a scalp a day," said her brother, fraternally.

    Harriet and the Piper

    Kathleen Norris

  • That word "Fraternally," which we find closing so many bitter and discourteous letters, seems to be used as a parting blow.

    The Story of a Life

    J. Breckenridge Ellis

  • When writing to people they called them "Citizens," and signed themselves "fraternally yours."

  • His sister he had hitherto loved as a friend,—so fraternally, so freely, so increasingly!

    Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2)

    Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

British Dictionary definitions for fraternally

fraternal

adjective
  1. of or suitable to a brother; brotherly
  2. of or relating to a fraternity
  3. 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
Derived Formsfraternalism, nounfraternally, adverb

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 fraternally

adv.

1610s, from fraternal + -ly (2).

Show More

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
fraternally in Medicine

fraternal

(frə-tûr′nəl)
adj.
  1. Of or relating to brothers.
  2. 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.