frater

¹

[ frey-ter ]

noun

1. a brother, as in a religious or fraternal order; comrade.
2. a member of a college or university fraternity.

frater

²

[ frey-ter ]

noun

, Ecclesiastical History Obsolete.

1. the refectory of a religious house.

frater

¹

/ ˈfreɪtə /

noun

1. archaic.
   a refectory

frater

²

/ ˈfreɪtə /

noun

1. a mendicant friar or a lay brother in a monastery or priory

Word History and Origins

Origin of frater¹

1555–65; < Latin frāter brother

Origin of frater²

1250–1300; Middle English frater, freitour < Old French fraitur, short for refreitor < Late Latin rēfectōrium refectory

Word History and Origins

Origin of frater¹

C13: from Old French fraiteur , aphetic variant of refreitor , from Late Latin rēfectōrium refectory

Origin of frater²

C16: from Latin: brother

Example Sentences

Uncle Jack was not much of a scholar, but he knew enough Latin to answer, "Salve tantundem, mi frater."

From Project Gutenberg

Praefectus praesidii Tarentini deperibat amore mulierculae, cuius frater in exercitu Fabii erat.

From Project Gutenberg

In the first of these letters Seneca hopes his brother Paul is well: "Bene te valere, frater, cupio."

From Project Gutenberg

The refectory, sometimes called the fratry or frater-house, was the common hall for all conventual meals.

From Project Gutenberg

Ecce, ego idcirco vocavi te, frater carissime, ut exemplo mei talia discas operari.

From Project Gutenberg