brethren Definition

brethren brother

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brother
noun brothers, brethren (archaic or formal except in sense 3)

1. A boy or man with the same natural parents as another person or people. Compare brother-in-law, half-brother, stepbrother.

Thesaurus: sibling, relative, kinsman.
2. A man belonging to the same group, society, church, trade union, etc as another or others.

Thesaurus: associate, colleague, companion, comrade, fellow, chum, friend, mate, partner, pal.
brethren
3. A man who is a member of a religious group, especially a monk.
4. A fellow-creature.

Example: We are all brothers under the sun
Form: brother-man (often)
5. especially US dialect or Black, slang, also Brit facetious
As a form of address to a man: friend; mate. See also soul brother.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon brothor, plural brether.