Etymograph

English

frate

Frate comes from Italian frate ‘brother’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāter1‘brother’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentfrate2‘brother’
  5. Englishtodayfrate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Italian frate
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English frate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tērWiktionary, Italian frate‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātērWiktionary, Italian frate‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāterWiktionary, Italian frate‘brother’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentfrateWiktionary, English frate‘brother’
  5. EnglishtodayfrateWiktionary, English frate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’

brother, bro, pal, brethren, bhai, 13 more

through Latin frāter ‘brother’

friar, 7 more

through Italian frate ‘brother’

fra

Today it means

noun A friar.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “frate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Italian frate. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr / frate

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