fraternal

[fruh-tur-nl]

adjective

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.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for fraternally

Historical Examples of fraternally

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."
The Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis De Tocqueville
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

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)

Derived Formsfraternalism, nounfraternally, adverb

Word Origin for fraternal

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).

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.

fraternally in Medicine

fraternal

[frə-tûr′nəl]

adj.

Of or relating to brothers.

Of, relating to, or being a twin developed from two separately fertilized ova; dizygotic.