brethren

CEFRC1

/ˈbɹɛðɹən/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Members of the same group, especially a religious one.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

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

Examples

  • Snippy had the bluest blood of all his crab brethren.

  • Are they our distant brethren?

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
3

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Of or akin to; related; like

More examples

In context

  • The principle still sounds good, but our astronomical knowledge is limited, and we haven't yet discovered any such brethren solar systems.

  • The Introit over, the service is interrupted for the feast. Contrary to the festive fashion of the nobles, who all sit with their swords beside them, here, in this feast of brethren, are no arms, not even a knife.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The monks gathered with their blank for the evening prayer service.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.