fraternitas

Forms

frāternitās f (genitive frāternitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin frāternus (“brotherly”) + -tās.^[2][3][1] frāternus is from frāter (“brother”),^[1][4] which goes back to Proto-Italic *frāter- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂-tr- (“brother”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Quintilian,^[6] and the TLL's first citations, from the declamations under his name, use it of the bond and affection between brothers.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call the word post-Augustan and very rare.^[7] Besides the tie between brothers, it was used of allies: Tacitus writes that the Aedui alone of the Gauls claimed the name of brotherhood with the Roman people (Aedui soli Gallorum fraternitatis nomen cum populo Romano usurpant).^[7][3] Ulpian says that a partnership has in it a kind of right of brotherhood,^[3] and Lactantius uses it for the bond of brotherhood among all people.^[3][7]

In Christian Latin it came to mean the brethren themselves, as in Cyprian,^[8] and it appears in the Vulgate.^[7][9] Medieval Latin gave it many institutional senses: the Christian community, a religious community, a congregation of monks, a chapter of canons, a fellowship of prayers and good works and membership in one, a lay religious brotherhood, and a merchant or craft guild; it could also mean a younger brother's share of an inheritance.^[10] English took the word, through Old French fraternité, in the early 14th century as fraternity.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian is Köbler's first source; the declamations under his name use it of brothers.^[6][3]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of the brotherhood the Aedui claimed with Rome.^[7][3][6]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of the bond between partners.^[3][6]
• beginning of 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian uses it for the Christian brethren.^[8][6]
• c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius speaks of the bond of brotherhood among people.^[7][3][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it.^[7][9][6]
• early 14th century – English borrows it, through Old French, as fraternity.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The relationship of brothers, brotherhood, fraternity.^[2][7]
2. Brotherly alliance between peoples.^[3][8][9]
3. Brotherly love among all people.^[3]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The brethren; the community of Christians.^[8][10][11]
5. (Medieval Latin) A religious community, a congregation of monks or a chapter of canons.^[10][12]
6. (Medieval Latin) A fellowship of prayers and good works; membership in one.^[10]
7. (Medieval Latin) A lay religious brotherhood; a merchant or craft guild.^[10]
8. (Medieval Latin) A younger brother's share of an inheritance.^[10]

Related words

• frāter
• English fraternity

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
10. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
12. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften