fraternal
/fɹəˈtɝnəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.07 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to a brother or brothers.
adj
Of or pertaining to a fraternity.
noun
A society formed to provide mutual aid, such as insurance.
noun
Example Sentences
- "By Cognate or Domestic duties, we mean those which grow out of the different family relations; and which may be classed as conjugal, parental, filial, and fraternal."
- "The Bhratridvitiya, or fraternal rite of the Hindoos, is an institution of this nature, being admirably calculated to cement the natural bond of union between brothers and sisters of the same family."
- "Yet, in leaving, Judah removes himself not only from fraternal violence but from familial destiny as well."
- "The changing Afro-American class structure shaped the war and postwar growth of black religious and fraternal organizations in southern West Virginia."
- "Ambivalence toward the larger society even permeated the Reichsbanner. the only SPD fraternal organization that, on paper at least, embraced bourgeois republican groups."
- "North and South, fraternal and sororital organizations were an integral aspect of urban culture among the mass of working-class black men and women."
Etymology
PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Borrowed from Middle French fraternel, from Medieval Latin frāternālis (“fraternal”), from Latin frāternus (“of or pertaining to a brother, fraternal”), from frāter (“brother”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: fraternel, frāternālis, frāternus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɹəˈtɝnəl/
Inflected Forms
more fraternal (comparative)
most fraternal (superlative)
fraternall (alternative)
fraternals (plural)