Etymologically
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frater

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈfraː.tɛr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfraː.ter][1]

Forms

frāter m (genitive frātris); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *frāter, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”).[2][1][3] Pinault analyses the Proto-Indo-European word as *bʰr-éh₂- “group of males borne by the same mother” with a contrastive suffix *-ter.[2] Cognate with Venetic vhraterei, Umbrian frater and Oscan fratrúm, with Old Irish bráthair and Welsh brawd, Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrā́tar-), Avestan brātar-, Ancient Greek φράτηρ (phrā́tēr, “member of a brotherhood”), Phrygian βρατερε (bratere), Armenian եղբայր (ełbayr), Old Prussian brāti, Lithuanian brólis, Old Church Slavonic братръ (bratrŭ), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar), Old High German bruoder, Old Norse bróðir and Tocharian B procer, all “brother”.[2][4][5] Umbrian fratreks names an officer of a brotherhood.[2] Nigidius explained the word as “almost another self” (fere alter), Festus derived it from the Greek, and Isidore from frūctus.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius onwards,[2] and Plautus calls Neptune the brother of Jupiter.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

It meant a brother, frater germanus a full brother, and in the plural brother and sister; a cousin on the father's side was frater patruelis or simply frater.[4][5] Caesar's Gauls called a kindred people their fratres, and the vocative mi frater was an affectionate address between friends; it also served as a euphemism for a lover.[4] The fratres arvales were members of a priestly college.[4]

Christian Latin used it for a fellow Christian and in the plural for the brethren, and medieval Latin for a monk or friar.[1][7][8] British texts distinguish the half brother and the uterine brother.[9] All Romance languages keep it, as Sardinian fratre, Romanian frate, Old French frere, Italian frate and Portuguese frade, the last two in the sense “friar”,[10][1] and English took fra and frate from Italian and frater as a learned word.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[2]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of brothers and of a cousin.[4][7]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro explains the fratres arvales.[4][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero addresses his brother as mi frater.[5][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar's Suessiones call the Remi their brothers.[4][7]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of a lover.[4][7]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore derives it from fructus.[6][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A brother, as in frater germanus, a full brother, and in the plural brother and sister.[4][5]
  2. A paternal cousin (frater patruelis).[4]
  3. A friend addressed as brother; a kindred people; a lover.[4]
  4. A member of a priestly college.[4]
  5. (Christian Latin) A fellow Christian, and in the plural the brethren.[1][8]
  6. (Medieval Latin) A monk, a friar.[7][1]

Word family

  • frāterculus
  • frāternus
  • frātria
  • frātricīda
  • fratrissa
  • frātrō
  • frātruēlis
  • frātellus
  • frāternālis
  • frāternē
  • frāternitās
  • frātricīdium

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom