LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

frāter

frāter m (genitive frātris)
Classical[ˈfraː.tɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈfraː.ter]
№ 225 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. brother
  2. male friend, lover
  3. sibling
  4. EcclesiasticalLatinbrother, brethren; member of a religious community

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

fīlius eōrundem parentum: fīlius et fīlia in tabulā frāter et soror sunt.
frāter -tris m — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
a brother
frāter — in Seneca, ch. V

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefrāterfrātrēs
genitivefrātrisfrātrum
dativefrātrīfrātribus
accusativefrātremfrātrēs
ablativefrātrefrātribus
vocativefrāterfrātrēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

nuntia fratri tuo salutem verbis meis (Fam. 7. 14)
remember me to your brother.

frāter, tris, m. Sanscr. bhrātā; Gr. φράτηρ, φράτωρ, clansman; Goth. brothar; Engl. brother,
I. a brother.
I. Lit.: frater mi, salve, Plaut. Curc. 5, 2, 58; cf.: mi frater, mi frater, mi frater, tune id veritus es? etc., Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 1: amabo te, mi frater, ne, etc., id. ib. 1, 4, 1: L. frater meus, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 11, § 25: uxores habent inter se communes: et maxime fratres cum fratribus, Caes. B. G. 5, 14, 4; cf.: fratrem a fratre renuntiatum, id. ib. 7, 33, 3: et filius et fratris filius, id. ib. 5, 27, 2: fratris filia, Plin. Ep. 8, 11, 1: fratres gemini, twin-brothers, Cic. Clu. 16, 46; Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 41: fratres gemelli, Ov. H. 8, 77; also in the reverse order: gemini fratres, Cic. Div. 2, 43, 90; Liv. 1, 5, 6; Suet. Caes. 10; Verg. A. 7, 670; Ov. H. 17, 250 (and therefore wrongly censured by Quint.: quaedam ordine permutato fiunt supervacua, ut fratres gemini: nam si praecesserint gemini, fratres addere non est necesse, Quint. 9, 4, 24).— Also in sing.: To. Hic ejus geminus est frater. Do. Hiccine'st? To. Ac geminissimus. Do. Di deaeque et te et geminum fratrem excrucient, Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 49 sq.: venimus fratrem quaesitum geminum germanum meum, my full twin-brother, id. Men. 2, 1, 7; cf.: spes mihi est, vos inventuros fratres germanos duos Geminos, una matre natos et patre uno uno die, id. ib. 5, 9, 43: Cn. Phaenius ... frater germanus Q. Titinii, full brother, own brother, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 49, § 128; id. Font. 17, 36: fratres uterini, brothers by the same mother, uterine brothers, Cod. Just. 5, 62, 21: fratribus illa (templa) deis fratres de gente deorum Circa Juturnae composuere lacus, the brothers of a race of gods (Tiberius and Drusus), descended from the divine brothers (Castor and Pollux), Ov. F. 1, 707.—Of the giants: fratresque tendentes opaco Pelion imposuisse Olympo, Hor. C. 3, 4, 51: conjurati fratres, Verg. G. 1, 280.—Poet. of dogs: et Thous et Cyprio velox cum fratre Lycisca, Ov. M. 3, 220; Grat. Cyneg. 299.
II. Transf.
A. Like our word brother, as a familiar appellation of friends and lovers.
1. In gen.: quam copiose laudatur Apronius a Timarchide ... Volo, mi frater, fraterculo tuo credas: consorti quidem in lucris atque in furtis, gemino et simillimo nequitia, improbitate, audacia, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 66, § 155: frater, pater, adde: Ut cuique est aetas, ita quemque facetus adopta, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 54: frater erat Romae consulti rhetor, id. ib. 2, 2, 87: eheu cicatricum et sceleris pudet Fratrumque, i. e. of dear fellow-citizens, id. C. 1, 35, 34; Juv. 5, 135; cf. Phaedr. 1, 31, 5.—So freq. of civil wars: gaudent perfusi sanguine fratrum, Verg. G. 2, 510: crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratrum, Lucr. 3, 70.—
2. In partic.
a. Of lovers: nisi intercederent mihi inimicitiae cum istius mulieris viro: fratre volui dicere: semper hic erro, Cic. Cael. 13, 32; cf. Tib. 3, 1, 23; Mart. 2, 4, 3; 10, 65, 14 (cf. soror); Petr. 9, 2.—
b. In publicists' lang., an honorary title given to allies: Aedui, fratres consanguineique saepenumero a senatu appellati, Caes. B. G. 1, 32, 2; 2, 3, 5: non modo hostes, sed etiam fratres nostri Aedui, Cic. Fam. 7, 10 fin.: Aedui fratres nostri pugnant, id. Att. 1, 19, 2 (cf. fraternitas). —
B. Fratres for brother and sister (as also the Gr. ἀδελφοί): Lucius et Titia fratres emancipati a patre, Dig. 10, 2, 38: tres fratres, Titius, Naevius et Seia, ib. 2, 14, 35: fratrum incestus, amor, Tac. A. 12, 4: INFANTIBVS HILARIONI ET REVOCATAE FRATRIBVS, Inscr. Orell. 4583.—
C. Like Gr. ἀδελφός, of near kindred.
1. Frater patruelis, a cousin, a father's brother's son: hic illius frater patruelis et socer T. Torquatus, Cic. Planc. 11, 27; cf.: L. Cicero frater noster, cognatione patruelis, amore germanus, id. Fin. 5, 1, 1; cf. Dig. 38, 10, 1, § 10; for which simply frater, Cic. Clu. 24, 60; id. Att. 1, 5, 1; Cat. 66, 22; Ov. H. 8, 28; id. M. 13, 31; Tac. A. 3, 38; 11, 9; Just. 17, 3; Cic. Post Red. in Sen. 10, 25.—
2. Perh. also for levir (cf. the Fr. beaufrère), a brother-in-law, sister's husband: prope attonitus ipso congressu Numida, gratias de fratris filio remisso agit, Liv. 28, 35, 8 (cf. id. 27, 19, 9).—
D. Fratres Arvales, a college of priests; v. arvalis.—
E. Frater Solis et Lunae, the title of the Parthian kings, Amm. 17, 5; 23, 5.—
F. Of things of a like kind (so, too, the Gr. ὰδελφός; cf. also soror): aspicies illic positos ex ordine fratres (i. e. libros), Ov. Tr. 1, 1, 107; so Mart. 12, 3, 6.—As a proper name: (In Mauretania) montes sunt alti, qui ... ob numerum Septem, ob similitudinem Fratres nuncupantur, Mel. 1, 5, 5; Plin. 5, 2, 1, § 18; Sol. 25 (in Ptolemy, Ἑπτὰ ἀδελφοί; cf. Mann. Afr. 2, p. 459).

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰréh₂tēr
  2. Proto-Italic*frātēr
  3. Latinfrāter

Inherited from Proto-Italic *frātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr.

Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianfrate
  • Englishfratefrom Italian frate
  • Englishfrafrom Italian frate
  • Dalmatianfrutro
  • Istriotfra
  • Neapolitanfrate
  • Sicilianfrati
  • Venetanfrade
  • Venetanbrade
Borrowings
  • Englishfrater
  • GermanFrater
  • Albanianfrat
  • Indonesianfraterfrom Dutch frater
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianfrade
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianfrate
  • Aromanianfrati
  • Aromanianfrate
  • Istro-Romanianfråte
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanfrare
  • Old Occitanfraire
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesefradefrom Old Galician-Portuguese frade
  • Asturianfradefrom Old Leonese frade
  • Galicianfradefrom Old Galician-Portuguese frade
  • Old Spanishfradre
  • Old Spanishfrade
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianfradi
  • Romanshfrar
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardfrar
  • Ligurianfræfrom Old Ligurian frae
  • Ligurianfraifrom Old Ligurian frae
  • Gallo-Italic of Sicilyfrærfrom Old Piedmontese frère
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalfrâre
  • Old Frenchfrere

Quick answers

What does frāter mean in Latin?
frāter, a noun, means “brother; male friend, lover; sibling”.
What is the genitive of frāter?
The genitive singular is frātris. frāter is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce frāter?
In classical Latin, [ˈfraː.tɛr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfraː.ter].
Where does frāter come from?
Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr → Proto-Italic *frātēr → Latin frāter.