brotherlyadj.
/ˈbrʌðəli/, U.S. /ˈbrəðərli/ 1.
a. Of, relating to, or involving a brother or brothers (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > [adjective]
brotherlyeOE
fraternec1470
fraternala1513
brotherlike1543
confraternal1889
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxiii. 330 Ge eac feola oðerra gescrepa & gesynta..þurh þa broðorlican þingunge [L. per intercessionem fraternam]..he oncneow & ongeat heofonlice him forgifen weosan.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xix. 327 We sceolon ealle beon on Gode gebroþru, & healdan þone broþerlican bend unforodne þæt is þa soþan sibbe.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) Prol. l. 241 (MED) In gret Stace ȝe may reden al The fyre engendered by brotherly hatrede.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Amos i. B They..haue not remembred the brotherly couenaunt [Wycliffite boond of bretheren].
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. ii. f. 9 A brotherly league.
1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon To Parl. sig. A2v Who..hath not forborn to scandalize him, unconferr'd with, unadmonisht, undealt with by any Pastorly or brotherly convincement.
1658 W. Sanderson Compl. Hist. Life King Charles 62 [He] therefore desired his Brotherly power and authority with his Sister, by Message or Letters, to interpose his directions to Her.
1767 C. Smart tr. Horace Epistles i. iii, in tr. Horace Wks. (new ed.) IV. 32 In what ever situation ye live, unworthy certainly to break the brotherly [L. fraternum] league.
1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner i. 15 Feeling bound to accept rebuke and admonition as a brotherly office.
1885 W. Ross Aberdour & Inchcolme iv. 79 The very genius of the Papal system is to make some one the master of those who..ought to be considered brethren... By and by, he assumes fatherly instead of brotherly functions.
1903 Fortn. Rev. 2 Nov. 811 He asserted his brotherly authority; went to Canterbury; and took Elizabeth back with him to Oxford.
1999 R. M. Johnson Harris Men iii. 27 If he ever needs me, I'll be around for him, and that pretty much fulfills my brotherly duties.
b. Of a sentiment, disposition, etc.: characteristic of a brother or brothers, esp. in being affectionate or protective; fraternal. Frequently in brotherly love: love for one's fellow human beings.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [adjective] > characterized by brotherly love
brotherlyeOE
fraternala1513
philadelphian1615
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > love between kinsmen > brotherly love
brotherly loveeOE
brother loveOE
philadelphya1677
lovey-dovey1946
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. ii. 98 He ða ongon mid broðorlicre lufan heo monian & læran, þæt heo rihte sibbe & lufan him betweonum hæfden.
OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lxxx. 329 Broðorlic lufu [L. dilectio fraterna] and yrminga ælmyssylen and lifes clænnys gegearciað þe gode wununge an heofenum.
?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1860) 180 Our pees also and concorde brothirly Is sacrifice to God Almyghty.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 77 (MED) The ffourtene is brothyrly concorde..þat norchyth love of creaturys echon.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. LLLiiii Fraternall charite or brotherly loue.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 4 Grett affinitie, alyance and brotherlie kyndnes betuene the Scots and Peichtis.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Pet. i. 7 Adde to godlinesse, brotherly kindnesse. View more context for this quotation
1652 Moderator 47 The association of Churches should arise and bee entertained freely upon the ground and motive of Brotherly care only.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. ii. iii. 115 Who wou'd dream that out of abundant Charity and Brotherly Love shou'd come Steel, Fire, Gibbets, Rods.
1782 Morning Herald & Daily Advertiser 26 Nov. It is time..that the arms which have been lifted against each other, should now embrace with brotherly affection.
1884 Cent. Mag. Dec. 275/2 It was pretty ornery preaching—all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness.
1966 N. Gordimer Late Bourgeois World 56 Lawyers can attack each other with every sign of bitter ruthlessness over somebody's life—and then sit in brotherly bonhomie at the tea-break.
1999 Piecework Nov. 31/1 Sharing, brotherly love, and pacifism formed the cornerstone of their beliefs.
c. Resembling a brother or brothers, esp. in character or behaviour.
ΚΠ
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 30 (MED) Vr soule bone so broerli [perh. read broþerli] be as berne best þat bale for-beode.
1554 T. Sampson Let. to Trew Professors sig. Biij I iudge that ye be able not onely too iudge off the truthe, but too be brotherly enstructors of other in thesame.
1628 H. Burton Confl. & Comforts Conscience vi. 176 For many seueere Censurers, where is one brotherly Admonisher?
1656 H. Jeanes Mixture Scholasticall Divinity 152 A brotherly Saviour, and Redeemer.
1701 T. D'Urfey Bath iii. i. 21 Be sure you don't play the Rake now, and tempt him to drink, but be moderate and Brotherly.
1795 Monstrous Good Songs, Toasts & Sentiments sig. A3 Like a true Briton, I'll drink day and night—To a brotherly friend, and the girl of my heart.
1827 J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare Guesses at Truth 90 They flourish together in it like two brotherly trees that unite to make one great tree between them.
1835 T. Carlyle in Fraser's Mag. Jan. 103 The freest, brotherliest, bravest human soul.
1912 Manch. Guardian 29 Apr. 8/2 They forgot their election differences and joined together like brotherly comrades to defend each other and each other's interests.
2002 V. Henry Honeycote (2015) 114 She'd managed to suppress the memory and reincarnate the image of Ned as a boisterous and brotherly figure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [adjective] > operating together
concurrent1532
co-operant1598
co-operative1603
concurring1633
brotherly1638
coefficient1665
co-working1670
synenergetical1682
conspiring1730
consentient1737
co-ordinate1769
synergetic1821
synergistic1832
synergic1836
synergetical1856
1638 A. Read Treat. 1st Pt. Chirurg. xx. 146 Two brotherly muscles, appoynted for sundry motions of the same part.
Phrases
City of Brotherly Love n. U.S. (with the) the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [After post-classical Latin philadelphia or its etymon Hellenistic Greek ϕιλαδελϕία brotherly love (see philadelphian adj.1 and n.1); compare Philadelphia n.]
ΚΠ
1698 G. Thomas Hist. Acct. Pensilvania 37 It is now time to return to the City of Brotherly-Love (for so much the Greek Word or Name Philadelphia imports).
1795 W. Cobbett Bone to gnaw for Democrats (rev. ed.) 43 How grateful it must be to thee..to be yet adored by the Democrats of the city of brotherly love!
1887 Harper's Mag. Oct. 658/1 There arrived a dog..from the City of Brotherly Love.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! i. 9 Philadelphia, a metropolis sometimes known as the City of Brotherly Love but more accurately as the City of Bleak November Afternoons.
2014 Daily News (N.Y.) (Nexis) 23 Feb. (Metro ed.) (Sports section) 61 The Rangers, who returned to the Big Apple with two days between games, will practice Thursday at the Garden before returning to the City of Brotherly Love.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
brotherlyadv.
/ˈbrʌðəli/, U.S. /ˈbrəðərli/ Now rare.
In a brotherly manner; like a brother; fraternally.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > relationship of brothers > [adverb]
brotherlya1450
brotherlike1565
fraternally1611
brotherlywise1834
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 4283 (MED) From his coursere he alighte doun, And brotherly, with a pitous face, To saue his lyf gan hym to embrace.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Pet. i. 22 To love brotherly withouten faynynge.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iv. iv. 11 How should you gouerne anie kingdome, That knowes not..how to vse your brothers brotherlie.
1654 S. Clarke Marrow Eccl. Hist. (ed. 2) 237 He exhorted them lovingly and brotherly to lay down their Arms.
1770 A. Brice Mobiad i. 5 This War..Sets Ale-men, Alms-men, Aldermen, in Band, Tight by each other, brotherly, to stand.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel ii. xx. 49 The man he had loved so brotherly.
1896 D. Gregg Makers of Amer. Republic vii. 240 Here the Indians were treated as brothers and here they acted brotherly in return.
1918 P. Chapman Compan. of Way iv. 93 He is a brother in Christ's family, and it behooves him to behave brotherly.
1964 R. Robinson Atheist's Values ii. 157 We are brothers without a father; let us all the more for that behave brotherly to each other.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.eOEadv.a1450