English
bro
Bro is a clipping and spelling pronunciation of brother.
- English1500–presentbrother
- Englishearliest quotation 2021bro
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- English1500–presentbrother
- Englishearliest quotation 2021bro
Earliest quotation: 2021, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Penguin: “Pfeiffer's partners at Pod Save America — the audio…”
The story
Spelling pronunciation and clipping of brother. (Contrast bruh, which is a clipping of the pronunciation of brother rather than the spelling.)
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’
pal, fraternity, bhai, fra, fraternal, friar, frater, 11 more
through Old English brōþor ‘brother’
through Middle English brother ‘a brother or brother-in-law’
Today it means
noun Brother (a male sibling).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English brother / bro