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fraternity

[ fruh-tur-ni-tee ]
/ frəˈtɜr nɪ ti /
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noun, plural fra·ter·ni·ties.
a local or national organization of male students, primarily for social purposes, usually with secret initiation and rites and a name composed of two or three Greek letters.
a group of persons associated by or as if by ties of brotherhood.
any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc.: the medical fraternity.
an organization of laymen for religious or charitable purposes; sodality.
the quality of being brotherly; brotherhood: liberty, equality, and fraternity.
the relation of a brother or between brothers.
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Origin of fraternity

1300–50; Middle English fraternite<Latin frāternitās.See fraternal, -ity

OTHER WORDS FROM fraternity

in·ter·fra·ter·ni·ty, adjectivenon·fra·ter·ni·ty, noun, plural non·fra·ter·ni·ties.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fraternity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fraternity

fraternity
/ (frəˈtɜːnɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties
a body of people united in interests, aims, etcthe teaching fraternity Gender-neutral form: community
brotherhood
US and Canadian a secret society joined by male students, usually functioning as a social club
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
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