
brother
词源
源自古英语 brōthor,源自原始日耳曼语 *brōþēr,与古诺尔斯语 bróðir、德语 Bruder同源,最终源自原始印欧语 *bʰréh₂tēr。
noun
❶ 指与自己有相同父母的男性兄弟姐妹,通常用于称呼或描述家庭关系中的哥哥或弟弟。
“My brother is two years older than me.”
(我的哥哥比我大两岁。)
“He has a younger brother who just started school.”
(他有一个刚上学的弟弟。)
❶ 用于称呼或指代与自己有共同信仰、兴趣或目标的男性成员,常用于宗教或团体中。
“The monk greeted his fellow brothers in the monastery.”
(这位僧侣在修道院里向他的兄弟们问好。)
“We stand together as brothers in this fight for justice.”
(在这场正义之战中,我们像兄弟一样团结一致。)
verb
❶ 以兄弟般的友好态度对待某人,常用于非正式场合表达亲密关系。
“Stop brothering me, I need some space right now.”
(别跟我称兄道弟的,我现在需要些空间。)
“They've been brothering each other since childhood.”
(他们从小就以兄弟相称。)
常见短语
big brother — 字面指年长的哥哥,也常用来比喻监控权力或权威人物,源自乔治·奥威尔的小说《1984》。
“In the novel 1984, Big Brother is always watching.”
(在小说《1984》中,老大哥一直在监视着。)
brother-in-law — 指配偶的兄弟或姐妹的丈夫,中文称为姐夫、妹夫、小叔子等,具体取决于家庭关系。
“My brother-in-law is coming to visit us this weekend.”
(我的姐夫/妹夫这个周末要来看我们。)
blood brother — 通过仪式结为兄弟的人,或指有血缘关系的亲兄弟,强调深厚的兄弟情谊。
“They became blood brothers by cutting their palms and mingling their blood.”
(他们割破手掌混合血液,结为血盟兄弟。)