fraternal

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fraternal,^[2] borrowed from Medieval Latin frāternālis,^{[3][4][5][6][2]} from Latin frāternus (“brotherly”),^[7][8][9] from frāter (“brother”),^[7][8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *bhrāter-, the same source as brother.^[9][3][8] Etymonline and Barnhart also name French as a source, Old French fraternel (“brotherly”) in Etymonline and Middle French in Barnhart,^[7][10] and the AHD derives the word through French.^[3] The OED treats it as the Latin adjective with the English suffix -al, comparing the French word.^[11] The Anglo-Norman adjective is recorded from the 12th century, meaning "brotherly" and "of friars".^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of brothers, brotherly: Lydgate's Siege of Thebes, about 1421, speaks of fraternal hate.^[2][10] The OED's first quotation is from Fabyan's chronicle, before 1513.^[11]

Semantic evolution

The word has meant "of or like a brother" since Middle English.^[2][11] Johnson (1755) defined it as brotherly, pertaining to brothers, quoting Milton.^[13] In the United States it came to describe brotherhoods and friendly societies, the fraternal orders (1862), and a fraternal could be such a society.^[11][6] Fraternal twin, a twin from a separate egg, and fraternal polyandry are recorded from 1896,^[11] and the noun fraternal, a fraternal twin, from 1911.^[11][7] Weekley notes that the related words fraternity and fraternize were much used during the French Revolution.^[14]

Timeline

• c. 1421 – of brothers, brotherly, in Lydgate.^[2][10] The OED's first record is before 1513.^[11]
• 1862 – of a brotherhood or friendly society (US).^[11]
• 1896 – fraternal twin, a twin from a separate egg.^[11]
• 1911 – noun, a fraternal twin.^[11][7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or like a brother or brothers; brotherly: fraternal affection.^[15][11]
2. Of or relating to a fraternity or society of members joined for a common purpose: a fraternal order.^[15][6]
3. Of twins, developed from two separate eggs, and so not always alike or of the same sex.^[15][11]

Noun

1. A member of a fraternal order, or a society offering fraternal insurance.^[15]
2. A fraternal twin.^[11][7]

Word family

• fraternalism
• fraternally
• interfraternal
• nonfraternal
• unfraternal
• fraternal twin

Related words

• frater
• fraternity
• fratricide
• fratry
• fraternize
• friar
• brother

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
15. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster