Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lay brother

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables: lay broth-er
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A layman who is a member of a religious congregation or monastic order without the intention to become a priest.

Example Sentences

"In feudal days lay brothers were usually uneducated commoners, who did most menial, manual labor while the learned priestly monks held the more spiritual jobs."
"2010, WHY A LAY BROTHER?, Franciscan Friars The male branch of the Franciscan family, a community of Lesser Brothers, is made up of men who are both clergy and consecrated laity traditionally called "lay brothers"."

Inflected Forms

lay brothers (plural) lay brethren (plural) lay-brother (alternative, archaic)

Frequently Paired Words

brotherly laicity

Synonyms

conversus

Questions

What does lay brother mean?: A layman who is a member of a religious congregation or monastic order without the intention to become a priest.

How to pronounce lay brother

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lay brother”.
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