sister

[ sis-ter ]

noun

1. a female offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; female sibling.
2. Also called half sister. a female offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.
3. stepsister.
4. a female friend or protector regarded as a sister.
5. a thing regarded as feminine and associated as if by kinship with something else:

   The ships are sisters.

6. a female fellow member, as of a church.
7. a female member of a religious community that observes the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
8. British. a nurse in charge of a hospital ward; head nurse.
9. Informal. a term used to refer to or address a fellow Black woman; soul sister.
10. a woman who supports, promotes, or participates in feminism.
11. Informal. a form of address used to a woman or girl, especially jocularly or contemptuously:

    Listen, sister, you've had enough.

adjective

1. being or considered a sister; related by or as if by sisterhood:

   sister ships.

2. having a close relationship with another because of shared interests, problems, or the like:

   We correspond with school children in our sister city.

3. Biochemistry. being one of an identical pair.

sister

/ ˈsɪstə /

noun

1. a female person having the same parents as another person
2. See half-sister stepsister
3. a female person who belongs to the same group, trade union, etc, as another or others
4. informal.
   a form of address to a woman or girl, used esp by Black people in the US
5. a senior nurse
6. RC Church a nun or a title given to a nun
7. a woman fellow member of a Church or religious body
8. modifier belonging to the same class, fleet, etc, as another or others

   a sister ship

9. modifier biology denoting any of the cells or cell components formed by division of a parent cell or cell component

   sister nuclei

Other Words From

• sister·less adjective
• sister·like adjective
• non·sister noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sister¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun) from Old Norse systir; cognate with Old English sweoster, Dutch zuster, German Schwester, Gothic swistar; akin to Serbo-Croatian sèstra, Lithuanian sesuõ, Latin soror (from unattested swesor ), Old Irish siur, Welsh chwaer, Sanskrit svasar “sister,” Greek éor “daughter, niece”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sister¹

Old English sweostor; related to Old Norse systir, Old High German swester, Gothic swistar

Example Sentences

Like her character Sam, Everett had a sister who died of cancer, and the show was built around her loss.

From Salon

The husband of Harshita Brella, whose body was discovered in the boot of a car, worked his way back into her life after being arrested for domestic abuse, her sister has said.

From BBC

His sister said her brother had six children who are now without a father.

From Los Angeles Times

"My sister went in the Post Office and she said: 'Nobody's talking about Covid any more, they're talking about the post box topper outside the door.'"

From BBC

Her sister in Damascus told her that shops are closing, supplies are running low and ATMs are out of cash, she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• relative
• twin