broþor

• brōþer, brōþur, brōðer, brōður

From Proto-West Germanic *brōþer.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbroː.θor/, [ˈbroː.ðor]

brōþor m

1. brother

   Mīn brōþor hæfþ twēġen cattas.

   My brother has two cats.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"

     Þā ġecwæð sē abbod and ealle þā ġebrōðra þæt þēr ne mihte nā mā muneca wunian...

     Then said the abbot and all the brothers, that no more monks could dwell there...

• The word brōþor is attested in many different forms in the plural. The unmarked form, identical to the singular, is “attested early,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary also describes the forms with <-ru> as “frequent,” along with the forms with <-ra>. The forms with <ġe-> are described by the Oxford English Dictionary as being from “a typical West Germanic formation in which the prefix denotes mutual relationship.”
• The genitive singular brēþer is occasionally found, either patterned after the masculine consonant stems before they had adopted -es in this context or by analogy with the rare genitive singular dehter (“daughter's”), in turn modelled on the feminine consonant stems. In Northumbrian or late Old English, analogy with the a-stems can instead yield brōþres, although unmarked brother is still common in Middle English.
• Analogy with the consonant stems also rarely results in the umlauted nominative/accusative plural brœ̄þre in Mercian.^[1] In late Old English, this type spreads into West Saxon as brēþre; it is very common in Middle English, perhaps due to the influence of Old Norse brǿðr.^[2]

• Middle English: brother
  • English: brother (see there for further descendants)

    Ottawa Valley: bruder

  • Middle Scots: brother
    • Scots: brither, bruther, broder, bruder
  • Yola: brover, brower