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fraternal

[fruh-tur-nl]
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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.
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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)
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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).

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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.

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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.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.