English
fraternize
Fraternize comes from French fraterniser ‘to fraternize’, from Latin fraternus ‘brotherly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tēr1‘brother’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātēr1‘brother’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāter1‘brother’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfraternus2‘brotherly’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfraterniser3‘to fraternize’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920fraternize3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin fraternus
- 2 Wiktionary, French fraterniser
- 3 Wiktionary, English fraternize
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Mary Heaton Vorse: “Now in this world it is never wise to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tērWiktionary, Latin fraternus‘brother’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frātērWiktionary, Latin fraternus‘brother’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāterWiktionary, Latin fraternus‘brother’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfraternusWiktionary, French fraterniser‘brotherly’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfraterniserWiktionary, English fraternize‘to fraternize’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920fraternizeWiktionary, English fraternize. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Mary Heaton Vorse: “Now in this world it is never wise to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’
brother, bro, pal, brethren, bhai, 13 more
through Latin frāter ‘brother’
Today it means
verb To associate with others in a brotherly or friendly manner.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “fraternize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin fraternus, French fraterniser. 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 / fraternize