brotherhood

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English brotherhod, equivalent to brother +‎ -hood, from earlier brotherhede, alteration (influenced by suffixes in -hood, -head) of Early Middle English brotherrede (“brotherhood, fraternity”), from Old English brōþorrǣden (“brotherhood, fellowship”), equivalent to brother +‎ -red (see brotherred). More at brother, -red. Piecewise doublet of friarhood. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʌð.ɚˌhʊd/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʌð.əˌhʊd/ (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʊð.əˌhʊd/ (Northern England, H-dropping) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʊð.əˌɹʊd/ Hyphenation: broth‧er‧hood === Noun === brotherhood (countable and uncountable, plural brotherhoods) The state of being brothers or a brother (also figuratively). An association of people for any purpose, such as a society of monks; a fraternity. All the people engaged in the same business, especially those of the same profession People, or (poetically) things, of the same kind. ==== Synonyms ==== fraternity, association, fellowship, sodality, brethren ==== Hypernyms ==== (state): siblinghood ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === sisterhood === Further reading === “brotherhood”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “brotherhood”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “brotherhood”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.