brethren

See also: Brethren

English

Alternative forms

brethern (obsolete)

Etymology

From Early Modern English brethren, plural of brother, from Middle English brethren, from Middle English brethere, brether + -en (plural ending). Ultimately from Old English brōþor, brōþru (“brothers, brethren”), influenced by Old English brēþer, dative singular of brōþor (“brother”). Equivalent to brother +‎ -en (plural ending). Compare German Brüder (“brothers, brethren”). More at brother. The vowel change (from o to e) is called umlaut.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɛðɹən/
Audio (US): (file)
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Noun

brethren

(archaic) plural of brother
(poetic) kinsmen

Usage notes

The plural brethren is generally used for members of an organization, especially a religious body, whereas the plural brothers is used in the familial sense as well as for larger groups.

Derived terms

Noun

brethren pl (plural only)

(figuratively) The body of members, especially of a fraternal, religious or military order.

Coordinate terms

sistren

Translations

the body of members

Atayal: mtsswe
Bengali: ভ্রাতৃবর্গ (bhratriborgo)
Catalan: confraria (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 同胞 (zh) (tóngbāo)
Danish: broder (da) c
Finnish: veljet pl, veljekset pl
French: confrérie (fr) f, confrères (fr) m pl, frères (fr) m pl
German: Brüder (de) m, Brüdergemeinschaft f
Greek: αδελφότητα (el) f (adelfótita), αδελφοί (el) m pl (adelfoí)
Hungarian: hittestvér (hu), felebarát (hu)
Italian: confratelli
Japanese: 同胞 (ja) (dōhō)
Occitan: confraires m pl, fraires (oc) m pl
Polish: bractwo (pl) n
Portuguese: confraria (pt) f, confrades m or f, irmãos (pt) m pl
Russian: бра́тство (ru) (brátstvo)
Spanish: hermanos (es) pl, camaradas (es) pl, correligionarios (es) pl, cofrades pl, cofradía (es) f, hermandad (es) f, grey (es) f
Swedish: bröder (sv) pl
Ukrainian: бра́ття (uk) n (bráttja), бра́тство (uk) n (brátstvo), бра́тія (uk) f (brátija)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Catalan: germans (ca) pl
Dutch: broeders (nl) pl
Galician: irmáns pl
Hebrew: אחים לדת pl
Interlingua: fratres (ia) pl
Portuguese: irmãos (pt) pl

Adjective

brethren (comparative more brethren, superlative most brethren)

Of or akin to; related; like
- 2009, Seth Shostak, Confessions of an Alien Hunter:
  The principle still sounds good, but our astronomical knowledge is limited, and we haven't yet discovered any such brethren solar systems.