Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A plural of brother.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Plural of brother. See phrases under brother.
Wiktionary
- n. archaic Plural form of brother.
- n. figuratively the body of members, especially of a fraternal, religious or military order
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. pl. of brother.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (plural) the lay members of a male religious order
Etymologies
- From Early Modern English brethren (plural of brother), from Middle English brethere, brether (+ -en (plural ending)), alteration, due to Old English brēþer (dative singular), of Old English brōþor, brōþru ("brothers, brethren"). Compare German Brüder ("brothers, brethren"). More at brother. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“And just as the economic principles of the trust are being applied to religious organizations, even so the stronger ethical principles that are moving the nations are inducing Christian white men to come nearer to their brethren in black, and to treat them more as _men_, _brethren_, than has ever been done before.”
“Many similar historical testimonies now lying before me to the humble equality of the New Testament ministry could be added; but lest the reader become weary, I will conclude with the following beautiful description from D'Aubigne in his noted History of the Reformation: "The church was in the beginning a community of brethren, guided by a few of the _brethren_.”
“Perhaps Mr. Martin thinks that regulating the prices and service offerings of Comcast and Verizon and their brethren is a good way to get them to invest billions in next-generation networks.”
Cable Industry to F.C.C.: Don’t Ask About Our Rates - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
“Charity to the souls of our brethren is the best charity.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation)
“The group, like their label brethren the O'Jay's, benefited from Kenneth Gamble's interest in having strong patriarchal voices parlay his lyrics of Black pride and self-determination.”
“Or getting Guns N 'Roses back together (this would make me and by brethren from the 80's very happy).”
“Yet the gap between the Falcons and the majority of their conference brethren is large.”
“All I ask from my religious brethren is this: Even as you oppose gay relationships because of your beliefs, please be tortured by your opposition.”
The Wall Street Journal: My Jewish Perspective on Homosexuality
“Q: I was struck by the quote from St. Francis that your neighbors put up on your barn: Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.”
A Conversation with Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig
“And all I'm asking from my religious brethren is this: even as you oppose gay relationships because of your beliefs, please, for the love of G-d, be tortured by your opposition.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Homophobia Is Itself an Abomination
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘brethren’.
-
RELI - Genesis
Protagonists and relevant words in the Book of Creation (Source: King James Bible)
wrath, leaf, belly, prey, death, break, six, nod, dim, end, inn, judge and 1286 more...
-
Words Associated With Jesus
Words that indentify Jesus and His Salvation to those who seek Him.
hope, grace, love, faith, salvation, truth, eternity, heaven, god, holy spirit, bible, scripture and 191 more...
-
RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
-
RELI - words you immediately associat...
baptism, almighty, Balaam, altar, anoint, archangel, apostle, advent, writings, wonders, timbrel, thorns and 341 more...
-
religion
who is this god person, anyway? (--Douglas Adams)
sachristy, vestry, diocese, papal, cardinal, pope, polygamy, seven, father, chaplain, vestments, blessing and 227 more...
-
See Phrases Under
Being a list of words with definitions which have the phrase "see phrases under" in them. I will also accept words with definitions which have the phrase "see phrases below."
see phrases under, cubit, hood, palm, brethren, sulcus, zone, trochlearis, sacrovertebral, turkey, geography, See Phrases Under and 2 more...
-
Behind the Sofa
The monsters of Doctor Who.
dalek, cyberman, sycorax, pig slave, macra, carrionite, judoon, plasmavore, racnoss, slitheen, silurian, ood and 47 more...
-
September Words-10031
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
pseudonym, Cacophony, Cannabis, Bogus, Soulless, via, celestial, Liquor, dwarf, Wretched, Gemini, quartz and 53 more...
-
• The bonhomous lynchpin - And other ...
plinth, starboard, bonhomie, bulkhead, brethren, gabardine, anon, lynchpin, vine, yoke, sequin, marigold and 12 more...
-
big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
-
Quaintnesses
For those who wish no words were ever forgotten
opprobrium, tedium, encomium, odium, ire, enmity, beguile, wile, brazen, popinjay, squit, hoity-toity and 1161 more...
-
Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
-
anotherfailedattempt's Words
kakistocracy, conflagration, pollyanna, equanimity, punctillious, obstreperous, ribald, belligerent, truculent, verbose, lachrymose, onanism and 278 more...
-
cloudjuice's Words
schadenfreude, sordid, promulgate, erratic, erroneous, amalgamate, sesquipedalian, incongruous, psychosis, etymology, simulacrum, serendipity and 988 more...
-
E pluribus
Interesting Plurals
cherubim, seraphim, culs-de-sac, adjutants-general, aides-de-camp, passersby, courts-martial, commanders-in-chief, fleurs-de-lis, knickerbockers glory, heirs apparent, billets doux and 97 more...
-
dienekes's Words
chutzpah, lexicon, intrepid, pedagogical, schlemiel, schism, erudite, anathema, pugilist, jaunty, paradigm, automaton and 949 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for brethren.

pterodactyl Sionnach, you've just set me giggling, and I'm afraid I might not stop for some time.
Hee hee hee! Apr 4, 2008
sionnach Kind of like cistern, only male. Apr 3, 2008