Fraternal
/frəˈtɝː.nəl/noun
Relating to brothers or brotherhood; friendly or brotherly.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin frater, and that same deep Indo-European family root also gave English speakers some of their most intimate kin-words, proving how often language encodes blood, duty, and belonging.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰréh₂tēr
“brother”
Latin
Latin
frāter
“brother”
Late Latin
Latin
frāternālis
“brotherly; of brothers”
Old French
Old French
fraternel
“brotherly”
Middle English
English
fraternal
“brotherly; like brothers”
Modern English
English
fraternal
“Relating to brothers or brotherhood; friendly or brotherly.”
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