Etymograph

English

phratry

Phratry comes from Ancient Greek φρατρία ‘tribe, clan’, from φράτηρ ‘member of a community: clansman, kinsman,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰrā́tēr1‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφράτηρ2‘member of a community: clansman, kinsman, citizen, "brother" in the non-familial sense’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφρατρία2phratría‘tribe, clan’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphrātria2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1979phratry2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φράτηρ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English phratry
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Åke Hultkrantz, The Great Tribal Ceremonies: “The moieties are linked to or bear the names…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰréh₂tērWiktionary, Ancient Greek φράτηρ‘brother’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰrā́tērWiktionary, Ancient Greek φράτηρ‘brother’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφράτηρWiktionary, English phratry‘member of a community: clansman, kinsman, citizen, "brother" in the non-familial sense’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφρατρίαWiktionary, English phratryphratría‘tribe, clan’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphrātriaWiktionary, English phratry
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1979phratryWiktionary, English phratry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Åke Hultkrantz, The Great Tribal Ceremonies: “The moieties are linked to or bear the names…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr ‘brother’

brother, bro, pal, brethren, fraternity, bhai, friar, fra, fraternal, frater, 10 more

Today it means

noun A clan or kinship group consisting of a number of families claiming descent from a common ancestor and having certain collective functions and responsibilities.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “phratry”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek φράτηρ. 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 / phratry

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