fraternity
noun/frəˈtɜːnəti/
/frəˈtɜːrnəti/
(plural fraternities)
- [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people sharing the same profession, interests or beliefs
- members of the medical/banking/racing fraternity
- The legal fraternity doesn't/don't see things that way.
- (also North American English, informal frat)[countable] a club for a group of male students at an American college or university compare sororityCultureSome fraternities also have female members. The members usually live in a house together and are called Greeks, because each fraternity takes as its name two or three Greek letters, such as Lambda Delta Chi. Fraternities do charity work but are sometimes criticized for their wild parties.see also Phi Beta KappaTopics Educationc2
- [uncountable] (formal) a feeling of friendship and support that exists between the members of a group
- the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French fraternite, from Latin fraternitas, from fraternus, from frater ‘brother’.
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