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Brother vs Brotherless - What's the difference?

brother | brotherless |

As a noun brother

is title of respect for an adult male member of a religious or fraternal order.

As an adjective brotherless is

without a brother.

brother

English

Alternative forms

* brotha (Jamaican English)

Noun

(en-noun)
  • Son of the same parents as another person.
  • * , chapter=10
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers .}}
  • A male having at least one parent in common with another (see half-brother, stepbrother).
  • A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.
  • * The Bible, Deuteronomy 23:19 (NKJV)
    • You shall not charge interest to your brother —interest on money or'' food ''or anything that is lent out at interest.
  • (African American Vernacular English) A black male.
  • * 2013 , Gwyneth Bolton, Ready for Love
    • But damn if they knew when to just leave a brother alone and let him sulk in silence.
  • Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.
  • *
    • And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers .

    Usage notes

    The plural “brethren” is not used for biological brothers in contemporary English (although it was in older usage). It is, however, still very common when meaning “members of a religious order”. It is also sometimes used in other figurative senses, e.g. “adherents of the same religion”, “countrymen”, and the like.

    Coordinate terms

    * (with regards to gender) sister

    Hypernyms

    * (son of common parents) sibling

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the noun "brother") * big brother/Big Brother * blood brother * bro * brother german * brother-in-arms * brother-in-law * Brother Jonathan * brothered * brotherhood * brotherlike * brotherly * bruv * bruvver * Christian Brother * co-brother * cousin brother/cousin-brother * everyone and their brother/everybody and their brother * foster brother/foster-brother * half brother/half-brother * lay brother * little brother * milk brother * soul brother * stepbrother/step-brother * uterine brother * Xaverian Brother

    Related terms

    * friar * fraternal * fraternity

    Descendants

    * Bahamian Creole: (l) * Belize Kriol English: (l) * Bislama: (l) * Cameroon Pidgin: * Gullah: (l) * Islander Creole English: (l) * Krio: (l) * Nicaraguan Creole: (l) * Nigerian Pidgin: (l) * Pichinglis: * Pijin: (l) * Portuguese: * Saramaccan: * Tok Pisin: (l), (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To treat as a brother.
  • * 1819 , Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
  • * Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother ?

    • Interjection

    (en interjection)
    • We're being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother !

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words English nouns with irregular plurals English words with multiple plurals ----

    brotherless

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Without a brother.