The old-fashioned form brethren is still sometimes used as the plural for meanings 2 and 3. brethren为旧时写法,有时仍用作义项2和3的复数。
1
[N-COUNT 可数名词]See also:half-brother
;
stepbrother
;
(同父母的)兄,弟 Your
brother is a boy or a man who has the same parents as you.
2
[N-COUNT 可数名词]兄弟;同胞;教友;国人;同行;同志 You can describe a man as your
brother if he belongs to the same race, religion, country, profession, or trade union as you, or if he has similar ideas to you.
3
[N-TITLE; N-COUNT; N-VOC]教徒,修士,僧侣(用于头衔) Brother is a title given to a man who belongs to a religious community such as a monastery.
4
[N-IN-NAMES 名称名词](用于某些公司或商店的名称中) Brothers is used in the names of some companies and shops.
Usage Note :
Note that there is no common English word that can refer to both a brother and a sister. You simply have to use both words. She has 13 brothers and sisters. The word sibling can be used, but it is very formal.
注意英语常用词汇中没有一个同时表示“兄弟姐妹”的词,要表示这一概念,只能brother和sister两个词一起用:She has 13 brothers and sisters(她有13个兄弟姐妹)。用sibling这个词可以表示此意,但非常正式。