Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brother

/ˈbɹʌðɚ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.11 in modern English

Syllables
broth-er
IPA
/ˈbɹʌðɚ/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Son of the same parents as another person.

noun

A form of address to a man.

Informal

noun

A fellow black man.

noun

Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.

noun

Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.

Example Sentences

Etymology

PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Germanic *brōþēr Proto-West Germanic *brōþer Old English brōþor Middle English brother English brother Inherited from Middle English brother, broþer, from Old English brōþor, brōðer, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (“brother”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai. Cognates Cognate with Scots breeder, bridder, brither, broder, brother, bruther (“brother”), Yola brover, brower (“brother”), North Frisian brouder, bruler, Bröđer (“brother”), Saterland Frisian Brour, Brúur (“brother”), West Frisian broer (“brother”), Alemannic German briöder, bruder, brueder, bröder, Brüeder, Brüädär (“brother”), Bavarian pruadar, prueder, pruider (“brother”), Central Franconian Broder (“brother”), Cimbrian pruadar, pruudar (“brother”), Dutch broeder, broer (“brother”), German Bruder (“brother”), German Low German Broor (“brother”), Limburgish broor, Broër (“brother”), Luxembourgish Brudder (“brother; monk”), Mòcheno pruader (“brother”), Vilamovian brüder (“brother”), Yiddish ברודער (bruder, “brother”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish broder, bror (“brother”), Elfdalian bruoðer (“brother”), Faroese and Icelandic bróðir (“brother”), Crimean Gothic bruder (“brother”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar, “brother”); also Breton breur (“brother”), Cornish broder (“brother”), Irish bráthair (“brother”), Manx braar (“brother; friar, monk”), Scottish Gaelic bràthair (“brother”), Welsh brawd (“brother”), Latin frāter (“brother; sibling”), Ancient Greek βρά (brá, “brother”), φρᾱ́τηρ (phrā́tēr, “brother, citizen, clansman, kinsman”), Phrygian βρατερε (bratere, “brother”), Lydian 𐤡𐤭𐤠𐤱𐤭𐤳𐤦𐤳 (prafršiš, “brother”), Latgalian bruoļs (“brother”), Latvian brālis (“brother”), Lithuanian brólis (“brother”), Old Prussian brāti, brote (“brother”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian брат (brat, “brother”), Czech bratr (“brother”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene brat (“brother”), Serbo-Croatian бра̏т, brȁt (“brother; buddy, mate”), Armenian ապեր (aper), ախպար (axpar), ախպեր (axper), եղբայր (eġbayr, “brother; buddy”), Baluchi برات (barát, “brother”), Central Kurdish and Southern Kurdish برا (bra, “brother”), Northern Kurdish bira (“as a brother”), Ossetian ӕрвад (ærvad), ӕрвадӕ (ærvadæ, “brother”), Pashto ورور (wror, “brother”), Persian برادر (barādar, birādar / barâdar), برار (birār / berâr), وردار (vardâr, “brother; comrade; dude”), Ashkun břa (“younger brother”), Kamkata-viri břo (“brother”), Tregami brā (“brother”), Waigali brā, břā (“brother”), Tocharian A pracar (“brother”), Tocharian B procer (“brother”), Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother; friend”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: brother, brōþor, *brōþer, *brōþēr, *bʰréh₂tēr

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈbɹʌðɚ/
  • British English: /ˈbɹʌðə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce brother?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɹʌðɚ/.
What does brother mean?
Son of the same parents as another person.
Where does brother come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce brother

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “brother”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɹʌðɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “brother”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “brother” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.