Indo-European Lexicon

PIE Etymon and IE Reflexes

Below we display: a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymon adapted from Pokorny, with our own English gloss; our Semantic Field assignment(s) for the etymon, linked to information about the field(s); an optional Comment; and Reflexes (derived words) in various Indo-European languages, organized by family/group in west-to-east order where Germanic is split into West/North/East families and English, our language of primary emphasis, is artificially separated from West Germanic. IE Reflexes appear most often as single words with any optional letter(s) enclosed in parentheses; but alternative full spellings are separated by '/' and "principal parts" appear in a standard order (e.g. masculine, feminine, and neuter forms) separated by commas.

Reflexes are annotated with: Part-of-Speech and/or other Grammatical feature(s); a short Gloss which, especially for modern English reflexes, may be confined to the oldest sense; and some Source citation(s) with 'LRC' always understood as editor. Keys to PoS/Gram feature abbreviations and Source codes appear below the reflexes; at the end are links to the previous/next etyma [in Pokorny's alphabetic order] that have reflexes.

All reflex pages are currently under active construction; as time goes on, corrections may be made and/or more etyma & reflexes may be added.

Pokorny Etymon: bhrā́ter-   'brother, family member'

Semantic Field(s): Brother, Relative(s)

 

Indo-European Reflexes:

Family/Language Reflex(es) PoS/Gram. Gloss Source(s)
Celtic  
Old Irish: brāthir n brother GED
Irish: brathair n.masc brother ASD
Welsh: brodyr, brawd n.masc brother ASD
English  
Old English: brōðor, brōðer, brōder n.masc brother ASD/GED
gebrōðra, gebrōðru, gebrōðro n.masc.pl brethren LRC
Middle English: boy n boy W7
brother n brother W7
confrere n confrere W7
fraternal adj fraternal W7
fratricide n fratricide W7
frere, fryer n friar W7
English: boy n male child IEW
brethren n.pl brothers W7
brother n male sibling AHD/W7
bully n habitually cruel/overbearing person AHD
confrere n comrade, colleague AHD/W7
Fra prop.n Brother (religious title) AHD/W7
fraternal adj re: brothers AHD/W7
fraternity n guild, brotherhood AHD/W7
fraternize vb to mingle/associate as brothers AHD/W7
fratricide n one who kills a sibling AHD/W7
friar n member of mendicant order AHD/W7
pal n partner AHD/W7
phratry n brotherhood, (religious) clan/tribe AHD/W7
American English: bro n.sl brother LRC
British English: fraternise vb to fraternize LRC
West Germanic  
Old Frisian: brōther, broder n.masc brother ASD/GED
Frisian: boi n boy W7
Dutch: broeder n.masc brother ASD
Old Saxon: brōðar n.masc brother GED
gibroðar n.pl brethren ASD
Old High German: bruoder, bruodor, brōdar n.masc brother ASD/GED
gapruoder n.pl brethren ASD
Middle High German: bruoder n.masc brother ASD
German: Bruder n.masc brother ASD
Gebrüder n.pl brethren ASD
North Germanic  
Old Norse: bróðir, bródir n.masc brother ASD
Old Icelandic: brōðir n.masc brother GED
Danish: broder n.masc brother ASD
Swedish: broder n.masc brother ASD
bror n brother TLL
East Germanic  
Gothic: broþar n.wk.masc brother GED
Crimean Gothic: bruder n.masc brother GED
Italic  
Latin: frāter, frātris n.masc brother GED
fraternus adj fraternal, re: brother W7
fratricida n.fem fratricide W7
fratricidium n.neut killing of a brother W7
Medieval Latin: confrater n.masc confrere, fellow, brother W7
fraternalis adj fraternal, re: brother W7
Old French: frere n.masc friar, brother W7
Middle French: confrere n.masc confrere, member of same fraternity W7
fratricide n.masc killing of a brother W7
Italian: Fra prop.n.masc Fra [religious title] W7
frate n.masc friar, monk W7
Baltic  
Old Prussian: brote, brāti n brother GED
Lithuanian: brólis n.masc brother GED
broter-èlis n brother GED
Latvian: bràlis n brother GED
Slavic  
Old Church Slavonic: brat(r)ъ n.masc brother GED
brat(r)ъja n phratry GED
Russian: brat n brother LRC
Hellenic  
Hesychius' Greek Lexicon: φρᾱτρία n.fem phratry GED
φρήτηρ n phratry member GED
Doric: πάτρα n.fem phratry LS
Ionic: φρήτρη n.fem phratry LS
Homeric Greek: φράτρα n.fem phratry, people of kindred race GED
Attic: φρατρία n.fem phratry LS
Greek: φράτηρ, φράτωρ n.masc brother, clansman, phratry member LRC
φράτρα n.fem phratry GED
Armenian  
Classical Armenian: ełbayr n brother LRC
Iranian  
Old Persian: brātā n brother GED
Avestan: bhrātar- n brother LRC
brātā n brother GED
Indic  
Sanskrit: bhrā́tar- n brother LRC
bhrā́tā n brother GED
bhrātrám n phratry GED
bhrātryam n phratry GED
Romani: ph(r)al n brother, friend W7
Tocharian  
Tocharian B: pracer n brother LRC
procer n brother GED
Tocharian A: pracar n brother GED

 

Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:

Abbrev. Meaning
adj=adjective
fem=feminine (gender)
masc=masculine (gender)
n=noun
neut=neuter (gender)
pl=plural (number)
prop=proper
sl=slang
vb=verb
wk=weak (inflection)

Key to information Source codes (always with 'LRC' as editor):

Code Citation
AHD=Calvert Watkins: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed. (2000)
ASD=Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898)
GED=Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986)
IEW=Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959)
LRC=Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin
LS=Liddell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon, 7th-9th ed's (1882-1940), rev.
TLL=Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944)
W7=Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963)

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