fraternity

[fruh-tur-ni-tee]

noun

plural

fraternities 

1. 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.

2. a group of persons associated by or as if by ties of brotherhood.

3. any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc..

   the medical fraternity.

4. an organization of laymen for religious or charitable purposes; sodality.

5. the quality of being brotherly; brotherhood.

   liberty, equality, and fraternity.

6. the relation of a brother or between brothers.

fraternity

/ frəˈtɜːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. Gender-neutral form: community. a body of people united in interests, aims, etc

   the teaching fraternity

2. brotherhood

3. a secret society joined by male students, usually functioning as a social club

Other Word Forms

• interfraternity adjective
• nonfraternity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fraternity¹

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

Example Sentences

Some of my fraternity brothers and I gathered around a radio because the nearest venue showing the bout was 40 miles away.

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They didn’t talk about what had happened, establishing a sort of fraternity of silence.

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They make for an odd fraternity, unhappy to be reminded of their shared horror.

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Freemasons take an oath of loyalty to the fraternity's principles and to supporting fellow members.

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Firstly, it would be the British boxing fraternity who would fall head over heels for an aggressive, forward-thinking fighter with a penchant for bending over opponents with air-sapping body shots.

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Related Words

• camaraderie 
• guild 
• sorority