Pl. brothers, brethren. Forms: 1 bróðor, -ur, -er, 2–5 broþer, 3– brother (passim -err, -ir, -ere, -re, -yr, broither), 4–6 broder, -ir, -yr, 6 bruder; mod.Sc. brither. Plural: see below. [A Common Teut., and Common Aryan word: OE. bróðor = OFris. bróther, bróder, OS. brôthar (MDu. and Du. broeder, MLG. and mod.LG. broder), OHG. bruodar (MHG. bruoder, Ger. bruder), ON. bróðir (Sw., Da. broder), Goth. brôþar:—OTeut. *brôþar:—OAryan *bhrā·ter, -tor, -tr, whence also Skr. bhrātr, Gr. φρᾱτηρ, L. frāter, OSlav. brātŭ, OCelt. *brāter (Ir. and Gael. brathair, Welsh brawd (from *brawdr), Breton breur (formerly breuzr).
As in some other words in OE. long ō, the mod. form has undergone more than the usual vowel chang. In ME., esp. in north. dial. and Sc., the th was often written d, perhaps after fader, moder. The OE. dat. sing. was bréðer; the gen. was the same as the nom. and remained so in Scotch down to 1600, as in the connection broder son (nephew), broder bairn, broder wyfe, broder dochter, which have often been misunderstood by modern readers. The plural has had a great variety of forms: viz. in OE. bróðor, -ur, -er (like the sing.), and bróðru, -ro, later -ra, also once broeþre (in Anglian, in Rushworth Gloss); and with collective sense, ʓebróðer, and ʓebróðru, -ro, -ra. In early ME. the Lambeth Homilies have broþre, breþre, and rarely breþren; the Trin. Coll. Hom. broþren and breþren; Ormin and Gen. & Ex. have always breþre, breþere; of Layamon the first text has a variety of forms, most frequently broþ(e)ren, frequently breþ(e)ren, rarely broþ(e)re, (never breþre or breþer), once broþerne, once broþeres; the second text has always broþeres, broþers. The Jesus MS. poems in O. E. Misc., have usually broþren, which is the regular form in Ayenbite; broth(e)ren occurs in many writers down nearly to 1600. In northern Eng., from the earliest distinctive specimens, the regular plural form was breþer, brether; often used also by non-northern writers. The standard English plural, down to 1600, was breþ(e)ren, brethren. Brothers, after its early appearance in Layamon, is not quoted again till the end of the 16th c., when it is used by Shakespeare indiscriminately with brethren. In the 17th c. brothers became the ordinary form in the literal sense; brethren being retained in reference to spiritual, ecclesiastical or professional relationship.
The original Teut. pl. nom. corresponding to Aryan *bhrā·tres, would be *bróþriz, whence regularly ON. brœðr. The corresponding OE. bróeðer, bréðer is unexpectedly wanting: but the Mercian bróeþre, and its ME. descendant brethre (see β) may possibly be a remnant of it. The northern brether (see γ) may actually have come down from *bróeðer, though it may also merely be brethre with the final e dropped. The OE. -u, -o (-a) forms are difficult to explain: it has been suggested that they might be originally duals (like sculdru from sculdor masc.). They were regularly represented by ME. brothre (see α). Brothren, brethren exemplify the usual passage of sbs. having vowel plurals in southern early ME. into the -en type. The early occurrence of the modern brothers, as well as its subsequent non-appearance till the end of the 16th c., is notable and requires further investigation. In the genitive pl. breðere occurs in Gen. & Ex.; breþern -e in St. Brandan; breþer, breþers was northern; brethren’s standard Eng., now, in ordinary use, brothers’.]
A. Illustrations of the plural forms.
† α. plural brother, brothre: OE. broðor, broðru, -ro, -ra; ME. 2–3 broþre, -ere, 4 brothere, 4–5 -ire.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 2033 (Gr.). Broðor þry.
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. cxxi[i]. 8. For mine broðru. Ags. Gosp., John vii. 3. His broðra [Lindisf. & Rushw., broðro; Hatton G. hys broðre]. Ibid., John vii. 10. His ʓebroðru [Hatton G. broðre]. Ibid., Matt. xii. 47. Þin modur & þine ʓebroðra [Hatton G. ʓebroðre; Lindisf. broðra, v. 48 broðro; Rushw. broþer].
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 5. Nu leoue broðre! Ibid. Leoue broðre and sustre!
c. 1205. Lay., 16120. Comen þa broðere.
c. 1275. Passion, 626, in O. E. Misc., 55. Ȝe beoþ alle broþre [rhyme ych to oþre].
a. 1400[?]. Sayn John, xix. in Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS., 94. His hyne holly and he … Become þare thi brothire [rhyme ilk one to oþer].
† β. plural brethre: OE. bróeþre, 2–3 breðre, breþere, 3 briðere. Obs.
c. 975. Rushw. Gl., Matt. i. 11. Broeþre his.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 9, 45. Leofe breðre.
c. 1200. Ormin, 6366. Wiþþ hise breþre. Ibid., 8269. Arrchelawess breþre þreo.
a. 1240. Wohunge, in Cott. Hom., 275. Borne breðre hauen me forwurpen.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 1911. If he saȝ hise breðere misfaren. Ibid., 2213. Ðo breðere (gen. pl.) seckes. Ibid., 2271. Al ðo briðere fellen.
γ. brether: (3–4 -ir, -yr, breither, 4 briþer, 5 brythir, 4–6 breder, -ir, -ur, -yr.) Still in north. Eng. and Sc.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1210. His breþer als him-self he loued. Ibid. (c. 1340), 23873 (Edinb.). Al er we briþer.
c. 1340. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 39. Alle þo rich breþer.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, III. 93. Twa brethir.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 9589. His dere bredur two. Ibid., 13167. Bothe were þai brether.
1432–50. trans. Higden (1865), I. 125. The breder of Ioseph. Ibid., 211. Rome was made of ij. breþer, Remus and Romulus.
1473. Warkw., Chron., 1. His two brythir.
1513–75. Diurn. Occurrents (1833), 84. And vtheris his breder.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., 33. The rest of the brether or sisters.
1609. Bible (Douay), Prov. vi. 19. Our Lord hateth … him that among brether soweth discordes.
1875. Lanc. Gloss. (E. D. S.), Brether, brothers.
† δ. brothren: 3–4 broþren, -eren (4 brotheryn(e, 5 broderen, -yrn, 5–6 brothern, -e, 6 brootherne, Sc. (casually) brotherand). Obs.
a. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 173. Of two broðren.
c. 1205. Lay., 2759. His broðren hine cleopeden. Ibid., 2101. Þa þreo broðeren [c. 1275 broþers; so 5536, 6809, 10461, 11176]. Ibid., 3880. Beine iweren ibroðeren [c. 1275 broþers; so 10446, 12255].
1340. Ayenb., 101. We gadereþ alle oure broþren. Ibid., 149. Uor oure broþren.
c. 1275. O. E. Misc., 53. Go to myne broþren.
c. 1440. Generydes, 2656. We are broderen.
1478. W. Paston, Lett., 816, III. 226. All my brodyrn and systyrs.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 401/2. His brothern wepte.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, I. (1822), 44. To haif supportit his brotherand.
1536. Remed. Sedition, 24 b. Ye brotherne and systerne? fathers and mothers?
1555. Eden, Decades W. Ind. (Arb.), 50. These owre brootherne, owre flesshe & owre bones.
1567. Drant, Horace’s Epist., II. ii. H vj. Two brotherne.
ε. brethren: 2–4 breþren, -eren, 3– brethren, (3–6 bretheren(e, 3–5 -in, 4 brithirn, -ern, -eroun, 4–5 -eren, 4–7 brethern, 5–6 brederne, -urne).
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 11. Leoue breðren.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 175. Ure helende … segh þos tweie brodren and þese breðren weren on þe se.
c. 1205. Lay., 2137. Þo þa þre breðeren. Ibid., 4292. Þas breðren [c. 1275 þeos broþers].
1297. R. Glouc., 478. The bretheren hulde al so aȝen hor fader.
c. 1300. St. Brandan, 558. Mid oure Loverdes pans and mid oure Bretherne i-boȝt.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 5304. Þe bold breþeren.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Wks. (1880), 284. Among here briþeren. Ibid., 367. Þe possessyon of her breþern.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 4144. My faire bretherene.
c. 1450. Lonelich, Grail, lv. 52. Alle his bretheren. Ibid., 59. His bretherin alle.
c. 1450. Merlin, iii. 4. The two brethern.
1489. Caxton, Faytes of A., IV. vii. 247. Two bretherne accused of thefte.
1535. Coverdale, Matt. i. 2. Iacob begat Iudas & his brethren.
1584. Powel, Lloyd’s Cambria, 68. Howel with his Bretherene.
1621. Burton, Anat. Mel., I. iv. I. (1676), 134. Two melancholy brethren.
1705. Stanhope, Paraphr., I. 49. Their Brethrens honest though mistaken Zeal.
1843. Macaulay, Lays, Lake Regillus, ii. Unto the Great Twin Brethren We keep this solemn feast.
ζ. brothers: 3 broþeres, broþres, broþers.
c. 1205. Lay., 9153. Alle his broðeres [c. 1275 broþers] mid him. Ibid. (c. 1275), 12255. Broþeres hii were [c. 1205 ibroðeren]. Ibid., 2101. Þe þreo broþers [c. 1205 broðeren] alle to gadere comen. [So everywhere in the later text.]
1588. Shaks., Tit. A., III. i. 30. Ah Lucius for thy brothers let me plead. Ibid. (1597), 2 Hen. IV., IV. iv. 23. Thou hast a better place in his Affection, Then all thy Brothers.
c. 1630. Naunton, Fragm. Reg. (Arb.), 25. Being both younger Brothers.
1713. Pope, Windsor For., 337. Around his throne the sea-born brothers stood.
1843. Macaulay, Lays, Horatius, xxxii. The Romans were like brothers In the brave days of old.
B. Signification: I. as simple sb.
1. The word applied to a male being to express his relationship to others (male or female) as the child of the same parent or parents.
In the singular usually defined by a possessive word expressed or implied as ‘my brother,’ ‘the king’s youngest brother,’ ‘the brother of your friend,’ ‘(our) Brother Jonathan,’ ‘come, (my) brother!’; in the plural, this may be absent, if the relationship is between the individuals themselves, as in ‘they are brothers (i.e., to each other).’
a. properly. The son of the same parents. But often extended to include one who has either parent in common with another (more strictly called half-brother, or brother of the half blood); also to a BROTHER-IN-LAW. See brother-uterine (in 9 d), also BROTHER-GERMAN, GOOD-BROTHER, (Also applicable to animals.)
O. E. Chron., an. 656. Min broðer is faren of þisse liue.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Luke xii. 13. Seʓe minum breðer þæt he dæle uncer æhta wið me. Ibid., Matt. x. 21. Soðlice broður sylð hys broður to deaðe.
c. 1160. Hatton Gosp., ibid. Se broðer sylleð his broðer.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 147. Þo two sustres wepen for here broðres deað.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1214. Caym his aun broder slogh.
1426. Audelay, Poems, 15. His borne broder.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 54. Brodyr by the modyr syde onely … germanus.
1473. Warkw., Chron., 1. He create and made dukes his two brythir.
1590. Shaks., Com. Err., II. ii. 154. Fie brother, how the world is chang’d with you.
1611. Bible, Prov. xviii. 24. A friend that sticketh closer then a brother.
1667. Milton, P. L., XI. 456. His Brothers Offering found From Heav’n acceptance.
1842. Tennyson, Dora, 15. She is my brother’s daughter. Ibid. (1850), In Mem., xxxi. 5. Where wert thou, brother, those four days? Ibid. (1859), Elaine, 40. Here two brothers … had met And fought.
b. Including more distant kin: A kinsman, as uncle, nephew, cousin. (Chiefly a Hebraism of the Bible.)
1382. Wyclif, Gen. xiv. 14. Loth his brother takun. Ibid., xxix. 12. He shewide to hir that he was the brother of hir fader.
1611. Bible, Gen. xiii. 8. And Abram said vnto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, betweene mee and thee … for wee bee brethren. Ibid., xxix. 12. Jacob told Rachel, that hee was her fathers brother. Ibid., 15.
c. Said affectionately of one regarded or treated as a brother; one who fills the place of a brother.
1795. Burns, ‘A man’s a man,’ v. Man to man, the world o’er, Shall brothers be for a’ that.
1850. Tennyson, In Mem., ix. My friend, the brother of my love, My Arthur!
2. A fellow-clansman, fellow-citizen, fellow-countryman (one who claims the same patria or father-land); in widest sense (under influence of Christianity), fellow-man, fellow-creature.
a. 1000. Ags. Ps. cxxi[i]. 8. For mine broðru ic bidde nu.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 219. For þi beð alle man ibroþren and isustren.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 854. His grace it was … Þat he wald bicom our broþer.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 151. Theyr neyghbours … I meane theyr systerne and bretherne.
1599. Shaks., Much Ado, II. i. 67. Adams sonnes are my brethren.
1611. Bible, Acts xiii. 26. Men and brethren, children of the stocke of Abraham.
1667. Milton, P. L., III. 297. So Man … Shall satisfie for Man, be judgd and die … and rising with him raise His Brethren.
1714. Fortescue-Aland, Fortescue’s Abs. & Lim. Mon., 30. The Lombards … Brothers and Kinsmen of the Saxons.
1789. Burns, Capt. Grose. Land o’ Cakes and brither Scots.
1840. Longf., Ps. of Life, viii. Footprints, that … A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.
a. 1860. Mackay, Brotherhood of Nations, vi. Are ye not brothers?… Is [God] not Father of all climes and lands?
1871. Morley, Voltaire (1886), 294. An ungrateful infection, weakening and corrupting the future of his brothers.
b. A man and a brother: a phrase taken from the motto on the seal of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ approved by a Committee of the Society on 16 Oct. 1787.
(The design, a kneeling slave in chains, uttering the words, was shortly after produced as a cameo, black on white, by Wedgwood, and became extremely popular as a personal ornament. The seal is in regular use by the philanthropic society, which still carries on the war against slavery and the slave trade.)
1791. E. Darwin, Bot. Gard., 101 [an engraving of the device and motto].
1808. Clarkson, Hist. Abolition, I. 450; II. 191.
1809. Montgomery, Songs Abolition Slavery, I. ii. The Negro wakes to liberty … Read the great charter on his brow, I am a man, a brother now.
Hence (contemptuously), man-and-brotherism, the anti-slavery movement.
1865. Pall Mall Gaz., 27 March, 3/1. Is this the principle of abolition? Are these the sentiments of man and brotherism?
3. A fellow-member of a Christian society, or of the Christian Church as a whole; a fellow-christian; a co-religionist generally. (Pl. brethren.)
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxiii. 8. An ys eower Lareow: ʓe synt ealle ʓebroðru [Hatton G. ʓebroðre; Lindisf. broðro].
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 5. Leoue broðre and sustre ȝe hi hered. Ibid., 125. Alle we beoð ibroðran.
c. 1200. Ormin, Ded. 3. Nu, broþerr Wallterr … broþerr min i Crisstenndom … Icc hafe don swa summ þu badd.
1340. Ayenb., 10. We gadereþ alle oure broþren mid ous of adopcion.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., I. xii. 63. Thi Christen britheren and sistren.
1521. Fisher, Wks., 329. In the epistoles of oure ryght dere broder Paule.
1552. Bk. Com. Prayer, Morn. Pr., Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness. Ibid., Burial Service, The soul of our dear brother here departed.
1780. Cowper, Night. & Glow-w., 29. Hence jarring sectaries may learn … That brother should not war with brother.
1857. Ruskin, Pol. Econ. Art, 20. We expect a man in a black gown, supposed to be telling us truth, to address us as brethren.
1871. Morley, Voltaire (1886), 176. The Protestants … found warm hospitality among their northern brethren.
b. The Brethren: in N.T. the members of the early Christian churches; hence, sometimes adopted by (or applied ironically to) members of various Christian associations, claiming to adhere to New Testament principles; e.g., the Puritan party in the Church of England under Queen Elizabeth. Also in the adopted title or common appellation of some modern sects who reject ‘orders’ in the church, e.g., ‘Brethren, Brethren in Christ,’ ‘Christian Brethren,’ ‘Plymouth Brethren,’ etc. (See the Registrar-General’s Reports.)
1382. Wyclif, Acts xviii. 18. Paul … seide fare wel to britheren.
1534. Tindale, ibid. Paul … toke his leave of the brethren.
1655. Fuller, Ch. History, IX. 139. Heartned hereat the Brethren, who hitherto had no particular platforme of discipline amongst themselves … began in a solemne Councell … to conclude, on a certain forme, as followeth.
1886. Whitaker’s Almanac, 195/2. The Brethren, or Plymouth Brethren, have 23 places of worship in London.
c. Also in names of historical sects: e.g., Brethren of Alexius: a sect of the 14th c., = Cellites. B. of the Free Spirit: a sect which abounded in Western Europe in the 13th c., alleged to have derived its name from Rom. viii. 2–14.
1860. Edersheim, trans. Kurtz’s Ch. Hist., I. § 142. 457. The Brethren of the Common Life were an association of pious clergymen founded by Gerhard Groot at Deventer, in the Netherlands (1384). Ibid., § 147. 470. It is more than probable that he [Master Eccart] stood in some relation to the Brothers and Sisters of the Free Spirit.
4. A fellow-member of a guild, corporation or order; hence, by extension, one of the same profession, trade, society or order. (Pl. brethren.)
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. V. 246. Dismas my broþer bi-souȝte þe of grace.
1389. Gild of Garlekhith, in E. E. Gilds (1870), 3. To noriche more loue bytwene þe bretheren & sustren of þe bretherhede.
c. 1466. Gild of Tailors, Exeter, ibid. 315. Yf any Brother of the fforsayd ffraternyte and crafte dysspysse anoder.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., 142. Gif ane man, quha is nocht ane brother of this Gilde … leaues in legacie, any part of his gudes to this Gild: we receave him as ane of our brether.
1723. Steele, Consc. Lovers, II. i. What shall I do for a Brother in the Case?
1805. Med. & Phys. Jrnl., XIV. 231. To furnish their professional brethren of the circle with a supply of recent vaccine fluid.
1824. J. Johnson, Typogr., I. 559. Admitted a brother of the Stationers’ Company.
1845. D. Jerrold, Mrs. Caudle’s Curtain Lect., xx. 117. When you were once made a ‘brother’ [Masonic], as you call yourself.
1848. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 441. One physician … assured the queen that his brethren would kill the king among them.
b. The official title of certain members of livery companies, and formerly of municipal corporations. c. A member of Trinity House.
1602. Return fr. Parnass. (pt. 2), IV. v. (Arb.), 60. Two states of an incorporation, the one of the Aldermen, the other of the Brethren.
1696. Lond. Gaz., No. 3176/3. The Master, Wardens, Assistants and Elder Brethren of the Society of the Trinity-House at Newcastle upon Tyne. Ibid. (1704), No. 4066/3. The Mayor … Aldermen, Brethren, and Capital Burgesses, of Your Majesty’s Ancient Borough of Derby.
1766. Entick, London, IV. 330. This corporation [Trinity Ho.] is governed by a master, 4 wardens, 8 assistants, and 18 elder brethren. The inferior members … are called younger brethren; into which number any master or mate, skilled in navigation, may be admitted.
1883. Ld. Sudeley, in Ho. Comm., 19 July. The Elder Brethren of the Trinity House.
d. More vaguely: One in the same case or position; a comrade, fellow, companion, associate. (Pl. more commonly brothers.)
a. 1300. Cursor M., 13086. Breþer mi dere and freinde Nu yee sal mine erand wend.
1423. James I., Kingis Q., clxxxiv. Beseching vnto fair venus abufe, For all my brethir … that seruandis ar to lufe.
c. 1430. Syr Gener., 4499. Sir, brethre we ar, both ye and I.
1611. Bible, Job xxx. 29. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owles. Ibid., Prov. xviii. 9. Hee also that is slouthful in his worke, is brother to him that is a great waster.
1632. Massinger, Maid of Hon., II. ii. I will draw my sword. Oh! for a brother!
1785. Burns, Ep. W. Simpson, xvii. Fareweel ‘my rhyme-composing brother!’
1821. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., I. 663. A legioned band of linked brothers.
e. In numerous phrases indicating the kind of fellowship, as sworn brother, brother at, in (of obs.) arms, brother of the angle (= fellow-angler), of the blade, gusset, long robe, quill, etc.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 302. I tolde the myn aduenture As to my cosyn, and my brother sworn.
1485. Caxton, Paris & V., 3. Two brethern of armes.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., II. iv. 7. I am sworn brother to a leash of Drawers.
1632. Massinger, Maid of Hon., V. ii. Once more brothers in arms.
1653. Walton, Angler, i. 5. I am a Brother of the Angle.
1668. R. L’Estrange, Vis. Quev. (1708), 105. To pass for Hectors; Sons of Priam; Brothers of the Blade.
1680. Observ. ‘Curse ye Meroz,’ 18. This Aphorism is but borrowed from another Brother of the Quill.
1814. Southey, Roderick, iv. My first sworn brother in the appointed rule.
1828. Scott, F. M. Perth, II. 212. That doughty burgher is Henry’s brother-at-arms.
1828–41. Tytler, Hist. Scot., I. (1864), 144. Randolph, his friend and brother-in-arms.
1840. Fraser’s Mag., XXI. 315. The two knights defend each other, as sworn brethren-at-arms.
1878. Morley, Diderot, II. 122. A chivalrous defender of poorer brethren in art.
Hence frequently in titles, as Brethren of the Sack, B. of the Holy Trinity: two fraternities of monks in the 13th c. B. of the Community, and B. of the Observation: laxer and stricter sects of the Franciscans. Little Brethren of the Poor: the Wyclifite preachers. Brothers of Obedience, B. of Charity, etc.: see quots.
c. 1500. Cocke Lorell’s B. (1843), 7. The pope … hath graunted in his byll, That euery brother may do what he wyll.
1513. Bradshaw, St. Werburgh (1848), 87. This kynge gaue a place … To buylde a monastery, to relygyous brethur.
1536. Act 27 Hen. VIII., xlii. § 2, in Oxf. & Camb. Enactm., 14. Scolers, Dimies, Brotherne, Chapleynes.
1552. Lyndesay, Monarche, 5850. Ȝe Brether of Religioun, In tyme leif ȝour abusioun.
1691. Southerne, Sir Ant. Love, I. i. A broken Brother of Bethlehem, with all his frippery about him.
1706. trans. Dupin’s Eccl. Hist. 16th C., II. IV. xi. 450. The Brothers of Charity were instituted by St. John de Dieu.
1788. Picturesque Tour thro’ Europe, 19. The Brothers of Obedience … without being obliged to go to Malta, like the rest, make the same vows.
1848. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., II. 61. The chief representative of the Jesuits at Whitehall was an English brother of the Order.
6. Used by sovereigns and princes to each other.
1534. K. Jas. V. to Hen. VIII., 5 June, in Nat. MSS. II. xxviii. Derrest and best belouit brother and oncle … Ȝour lowynge hartly brothere and nepho James Rex.
1535. K. Hen. VIII., Ibid., II. xxix. To be frank and playn with his saide goode Brother [of France], his Majestie woll in noo wise, directly or indirectly confesse the Bisshop of Rome to haue any Jurisdiction in princes.
1553. Q. Mary, ibid., III. iv. Our good brothere the ffrenche king.
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 64, ¶ 1. Princes and Sovereigns … are stiled Brothers to each other.
1848. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 199. Lewis … was as licentious … as his brother of England.
7. fig. Said of things.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. II. 141. Feire speche þat is feiþles is falsnes broþer.
1799. Wordsw., Two April Mornings, vii. That April morn, Of this the very brother.
1823. Lamb, Elia, Ser. I. xxiv. (1865), 188. The art of roasting or rather broiling (which I take to be the elder brother).
1830. Tennyson, Isabel, iii. A clear stream flowing with a muddy one, Till in its onward current it absorbs … The vexed eddies of its wayward brother.
† b. B. of the Rose: the five leaves of the calyx.
1611. Cotgr., Le gobelet d’vne Rose, The fiue-leaued Cap or huske thereof; called, by some, the fiue brothers of the Rose.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 590. We see also, that the Sockets, and Supporters of Flowers, are Figured; as in the five Brethren of the Rose.
II. attrib. and in Comb.
8. attrib. Placed before other substantives, in the same way as fellow-. Brother-man: a man recognized as a brother, a ‘man and brother.’
Often united by a hyphen, esp. in the singular, so as to make clearer the attributive relation of brother to the second word (contrast brother-officer with brother John); but in the plural this is sufficiently shown by the inflexion of the second word and non-inflexion of brother. Formerly brother was also made plural.
1503. Act 19 Hen. VII., xvii. The Mayor … with his Brethren Aldermen.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., I. ii. 122. Your Brother Kings and Monarchs of the Earth. Ibid. (1603), Meas. for M., III. ii. 219. My brother-Iustice haue I found so seuere.
1603. Dekker, etc., Patient Grissil (1841), 18. Many of his brother knights.
1613. Voy. Guiana, in Harl. Misc. (Malh.), III. 184. My brother-captain, Michael Harcourt.
1670. Walton, Lives, III. 216. His Brethren Ministers of the Low Countries.
1690. Locke, Hum. Und., II. xxvii. (1695), 186. To punish one Twin for what his Brother-Twin did.
1725. Pope, Odyss., XI. 300. Two brother-heroes shall from thee be born.
1768. Boswell, Corsica, iii. (ed. 2), 213. Composed in praise of his brother-commander.
1820. Keats, Hyperion, II. 160. Tell me, all ye brethren Gods, How we can war.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, I. xv. (1858), I. 100. An esteemed neighbour and brother magistrate.
1839. Carlyle, Chartism, iv. 128. These wretched brother-men.
1861. Jrnl. Sacred Lit., 95. Something which enables us at once to recognize him as one who is our brother-man.
1871. Morley, Crit. Misc., Ser. I. (1878), 220. Divorced … from his brother men.
b. of things.
a. 1822. Shelley, Sc. fr. Faust, Prol. Heaven. The sun sounds … In the song of emulation of his brother-spheres.
1873. Black, Pr. Thule, ii. 32. Suainabhal and his brother mountains.
1874. Boutell, Arms & Arm., ii. 17. The substitution … of iron, in the stead of its elder brother-metal, bronze.
c. Hence, possible parasynthetic derivatives, as brother-manhood.
1864. Carlyle, Fredk. Gt., IV. 457. A cheery brother-manhood.
9. Comb. a. The old uninflected genitive = ‘brother’s,’ as in broder bairn, daughter, son, wife, was sometimes in later usage taken as = ‘a brother’s, brotherly,’ as in brother deed, brother love. b. objective and obj. gen., as brother-hater, -slayer, -slaughter, -worship. c. instrumental, as brother-forsaken, etc.
a. a. 1300. Cursor M., 3750. Fader, þis was na broþer dede.
1483. Cath. Angl., 45. A Broder doghter, fratria. A Broder son, fratruus. A Broder wyfe, fratrissa.
1613. Shaks., Hen. VIII., V. iii. 173. With a true heart, And Brother-loue.
b. 1483. Cath. Angl., 45. A Broder-slaer, fratricida.
1561. T. Norton, Calvin’s Inst., IV. i. (1634), 510. Did brother-slaughter seeme to the Patriarkes a lawfull thing?
1817. Coleridge, Lay Serm., 387. Of many and various sorts are the brother-haters.
1864. Chamb. Jrnl., 31 Dec., 838/1. Brother-worship is natural to sisters—when young.
d. Brother-consanguinean (see quot.); brother-house, the home of a brotherhood; † brother-law = BROTHER-IN-LAW; brother-uterine, one born of the same mother, but not of the same father. Also BROTHER-GERMAN, BROTHERWORT.
1880. Muirhead, Gaius, iii. § 10. Brothers born of the same father, often called *brothers-consanguinean, are each other’s agnates.
1883. R. Heath, in Contemp. Rev., Oct., 491. Their *brother-houses and schools were soon found in most of the chief cities of the Netherlands.
1677. Hobbes, Homer, 195. Your *brother-law Alcathous is kill’d. Ibid., 383. Hector, said she, Whom best I lov’d of all my brother-laws.
