Meanings
- uncountableBig-brotherly behavior.
Early, he showed a non-condescending big-brotherliness towards his companion priests of the Missouri Mission.
1968, Better the Dream, page 313 more examples
“No—not on that one!” he objected, with that little air of big-brotherliness which Katherine always loved to see.
1901, Anna Fuller, Katherine Day, page 602We need only pay attention to the junior, enter truly into some bit of his life to hold his allegiance, and keep his interests on our side. It is not from lack of religious ceremony, but from lack of genuine big-brotherliness that juniors are lost.
1918, Anglican Theological Review, page 144Only the intonation in his voice, his whole manner, his diffident fatherliness, or at least big-brotherliness, had indicated, with the most rigorous precision, a very young person: [...]
1936, The American Mercury, page 464Synonyms: big-brotherism / big brotherism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounBig-brotherly behavior.
Origin
- Englishbig brother
- Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
- Proto-Germanic*līką
- Englishbig-brotherly
- Englishbig-brotherliness
From big-brotherly + -ness.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
big-brotherliness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-brotherliness
“big-brotherliness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-brotherliness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big-brotherliness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-brotherliness.
Source: big-brotherliness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.