Meanings
nounblood brother (plural blood brothers or (obsolete) blood brethren)
plural blood brothers · obsolete plural blood brethren
- An unrelated male considered to share a brother-like relationship established by a ceremonial sharing of blood in some cultures.
"He is a blood brother and an oath brother of Odin, highest of the gods."
2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 241 - A brother by blood: a brother-german or half-brother, as distinguished from step-brothers.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans bloedbroer
- bloedbroerunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Bulgarian побра́тим
- побра́тим (pobrátim)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Chinese Cantonese 盟兄弟
- 盟兄弟 (mang⁴ hing¹ dai⁶)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Chinese Mandarin 把兄弟, 盟兄弟
- 把兄弟 (bǎxiōngdì)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- 盟兄弟 (méngxiōngdì)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- 把兄弟 (bǎxiōngdì)unrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
- 盟兄弟 (méngxiōngdì)unrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
Dutch bloedbroeder
- bloedbroederunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Finnish täysveli, velipuoli
- täysvelifull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
- velipuolifull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
- veriveliunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- veriveliunrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
French frère de sang
- frère de sangunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
German Blutsbruder
- Blutsbruderunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Greek αδελφοποιτός
- αδελφοποιτός (adelfopoitós)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Japanese 義兄弟
- 義兄弟unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Latin germanus
- germanusfull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
Portuguese irmão bilateral, irmão germano
- irmão bilateralfull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
- irmão germanofull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
- meio-irmãofull brother or half-brother — see also brother-german, half brother
- irmão de sangueunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- irmão de sangueunrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
- irmãounrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
Romanian fârtat, frate de sânge
- fârtatunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- frate de sângeunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Russian побрати́м, на́званый брат
- побрати́м (pobratím)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- на́званый брат (názvanyj brat)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Turkish kan kardeşi, kan kardeşi
- kan kardeşiunrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
- kan kardeşiunrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
- kankaunrelated male friend considered to share such strong relationship
Ukrainian побрати́м
- побрати́м (pobratým)unrelated male friend confirmed by a ceremonial mingling of blood
Cite this entry
APA
blood brother. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20brother
MLA
“blood brother.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20brother. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blood brother,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blood%20brother.
Source: blood brother on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.