Where does “brother” come from?

Brother comes from Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-Germanic brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr, originally meaning a male sibling or kinsman.

brother (English): Son of the same parents as another person; A male...

Definitions

  1. Son of the same parents as another person; A male...

Ancestry of “brother”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishbrotherA brother or brother-in-law; a male sibling
2Old Englishbrōþorbrother
3Proto-West Germanicbrōþerbrother
4Proto-Germanicbrōþērbrother
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰréh₂tērbrother

Words derived from “brother”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr →