bro

See also: Bro, bro., -bro, bró, and бро

Translingual

Symbol

bro

(international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Brokkat.

English

Alternative forms

bra, brah, breh, bruh

Etymology

PIE word
*bʰréh₂tēr

Clipping of brother, Cf. scro.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /bɹoʊ/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɹəʊ/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -əʊ
Hyphenation: bro
Homophone: Breaux

Noun

bro (plural bros)

(slang) Brother (a male sibling).
My mom took my lil' bro to soccer practice now and she wanted me to pick him up.
(slang) Brother (a comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals).
Bro, you good? You've been lookin' kinda out of it lately.
- 2022 April 5, “A$AP Rocky: Will Smith 'emasculated' Chris Rock but 'it's more than just a GI Jane joke'”, in Cele|bitchy‎^[1]:
  Let’s not kid ourselves – there are plenty of men saying that Will has been emasculated by Jada, because hurr durr why would he hit a bro over a woman.
(slang) Brother, man; a friendly term of address for a male.
Hey bro, sorry to bother you but I think I accidentally backed up into your car, can I make it up to you?
(slang) A frat boy or someone who espouses the fraternity bro culture.
(slang, derogatory, usually in compounds) Someone, usually male, who aggressively evangelizes a person, concept or technology.
- 2021 May 25, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump, Penguin, →ISBN, page 152:
  Pfeiffer's partners at Pod Save America — the audio outpost of the resistance that had made a collection of Obama Bros niche superstars, had invested as producers in a documentary about the Senate run.
- 2022 September 14, Brian Culp, Electric Cars For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 11:
  One of these cars has 707 horsepower, performs amazingly well on a drag strip, and is popular among performance car bros. The other car is about to easily win a drag race.
- 2024 May 23, ego_bot, There's Something Weird Going On: Ten Stories of Existentialist Science Fiction, ego_bot, →ISBN:
  He'd seen that false equivalency coming from AI bros time and time again, but hearing it from an AI itself was especially irritating.

Pronoun

bro (third-person singular, masculine, nominative or objective case)

(African-American Vernacular) A person previously mentioned, usually male. Chiefly equivalent to he and him.
Bro said he finna go off today

You gotta go up to bro and say, "I know what you mean"

Derived terms

Descendants

→ Arabic: بْرُو (brō), بْرُوه (brō, brōh) (slang)
→ Italian: bro (slang)
→ Russian: бро (bro) (slang)
→ Spanish: bro (slang)
→ Ukrainian: бро (bro) (slang)
→ Vietnamese: bro (slang)

Translations

male sibling — see brother

diminutive of brother

Esperanto: fraĉjo (eo)
Finnish: veikko (fi), veikka (fi), veikkonen (fi)
Japanese: 兄ちゃん (nīchan), 兄貴 (ja) (aniki)

male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals

Esperanto: samideano (eo) (usually, but not always, refers to Esperantists), kamarado
Finnish: toveri (fi), aatetoveri (fi), veli (fi)
French: frérot (fr) m
Greek: αφός (afós)
Hungarian: tesó (hu)
Persian: داداش (fa) (dâdâš), حاجی (fa) (hâji)
Polish: brach (pl) m, braciak m
Russian: брата́н (ru) m (bratán), брато́к (ru) m (bratók), бра́тец (ru) m (brátec), брати́шка (ru) m (bratíška)
Spanish: compadre (es) m, broder (es) m, colega (es) m
Tamil: மச்சான் (ta) (maccāṉ)
Turkish: kanka (tr)
Yiddish: חבֿר (yi) m (khaver), גוטער־⁠ברודער m (guter-⁠bruder)

used to address a male

Arabic: أَخِي m (ʔaḵī)
Catalan: frai m
Chinese:
Esperanto: amiko (eo), ulo (eo)
Finnish: äijä (fi), kaveri (fi), jätkä (fi), jäbä (fi)
French: frérot (fr) m
Greek: αδερφάκι n (aderfáki), καρντάσι (el) n (karntási), μπρο m (bro)
Hebrew: אָחִי (he) m (akhí)
Italian: fratello (it) m
Japanese: 兄弟 (ja) (kyōdai), ブラザー (ja) (burazā)
Mandarin: 兄弟 (zh) (xiōngdi) 老兄 (zh) (lǎoxiōng)
Pashto: مړه
Portuguese: mano (pt) m
Russian: брата́н (ru) m (bratán), брато́к (ru) m (bratók), бра́тец (ru) m (brátec), брати́шка (ru) m (bratíška)
Spanish: hermano (es), tío (es) m
Turkish: kanka (tr)
Yiddish: חבֿר (yi) m (khaver), גוטער־ברודער m (guter-bruder)

Anagrams

BOR, Bor, Bor., ORB, ROB, Rob, bor, orb, rob

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *broɣ, from Proto-Celtic *mrogis.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

bro f (plural broioù)

country (-side)

Inflection

^{The template Template:br-noun-mutation does not use the parameter(s): g=f
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.}

Mutation of *bro*
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
singular	bro	vro	unchanged	pro
plural	broioù	vroioù	unchanged	proioù

Cornish

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *broɣ, from Proto-Celtic *mrogis. Cognate with Breton bro

Noun

bro f (plural broyow)

country, land

Mutation

Mutation of *bro*
unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed	mixed after 'th
bro	vro	unchanged	pro	fro	vro

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish bro, from Old East Norse brō, from Proto-Germanic *brūwō (“bridge; brow”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruh- (“beam, bridge”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /broː/, [b̥ʁoːˀ]

Noun

bro c (singular definite broen, plural indefinite broer)

bridge

Inflection

Declension of bro

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bro	broen	broer	broerne
genitive	bros	broens	broers	broernes

Descendants

Norwegian Bokmål: bro

References

“bro” in Den Danske Ordbog
“bro” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Gallo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bro m (plural bros)

thorn

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English bro. First attested in 2019.

Noun

bro m (invariable)

(slang) bro (a male comrade or friend)
Synonym: fra

Kalasha

Etymology

From Sanskrit बृहत् (bṛhat, “lofty, high, tall”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰonts. Cognate with Persian (boland), English borough.

Noun

bro

mountain top, peak
succession of peaks which make up a ridge

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bro m (plural bros)

(Jersey) pitcher

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

bro

Wikipedia ^nb

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

bro (skip)

Wikipedia ^nb

Alternative forms

bru

Etymology

From Danish bro, from Old Danish bro, from Old East Norse brō, from Proto-Germanic *brōwō (“bridge; brow”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruH- (“beam; bridge”), which may be the same root as *h₃bʰrúHs (“(eye)brow”), whence brun. Close cognate with Swedish bro. Compare also Norwegian bru (“bridge”) and Icelandic brú (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brū-.

Noun

bro f or m (definite singular broa or broen, indefinite plural broer, definite plural broene)

bridge

Derived terms

References

“bro” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English bro.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾo(w)/ [ˈbɾo(ʊ̯)]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾo(w)/
- (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾow/
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾo/

Rhymes: -ow

Noun

bro m (plural bros)

(colloquial) bro (a male comrade or friend)
(colloquial) bro (used to address a male)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bro.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɾo/ [ˈbɾo]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: bro

Noun

bro m (plural bros)

(slang) bro (a male comrade or friend)
(slang) bro (used to address a male)

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English blow.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bro/

Verb

bro

To blow, to produce air currents.
To breathe.
- 1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore‎^[2], New York: Columbia University Press, page 424:
  Bɔfru dɛ krei̯, Dia dɛ krei̯, Tamanwa 'ɛ krei̯. Nō mō ala den meti 'ɛ gowe wą' wą'. Nō mō Hagu drapɛ, 'ɛ bari, ‘Bia, bia, bia, / Mi yɛre suma dɛdɛ, / Ma karaki dɛ bro.’
  [Bofru e krei, Dia e krei, Tamanwa e krei. Nomo ala den meti e gwe wanwan. Nomo Agu drape e bari, 'Bia, bia, bia / Mi yere suma dede / Ma karaki e bro.']
  Buffalo was crying, Deer was crying, Anteater was crying. No sooner did all the animals go away one by one, than Hog called out, ‘Bia, bia, bia, / I hear a person died, / But his backside breathes.’

Noun

bro

breath

Swedish

Etymology

From Old East Norse brō, from Proto-Germanic *brōwō (“bridge; brow”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruH- (“beam; bridge”), which may be the same root as *h₃bʰrúHs (“(eye)brow”), whence bryn. Compare Norwegian Bokmål bro, Icelandic brú (“bridge”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bruː/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -uː

Noun

bro c

bridge (a construction that spans a divide)
Stan mellan broarna
The town between the bridges (Stockholm old town)

Släpp ingen djävul över bron, håll ut en stund ännu!
Let no devil across the bridge, hold out yet a while!
road bank (a road reenforced with stone or timber, in particular across wetlands)
quay
Synonyms: brygga, skeppsbro
porch
Synonym: förstubro

Jag får min motion när jag går ifrån bron och till vår garageuppfart.
I get my exercise when I walk from the porch to our driveway.

Declension

Declension of bro

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	bro	bros
singular	definite	bron	brons
plural	indefinite	broar	broars
plural	definite	broarna	broarnas

Related terms

References

Anagrams

bor

Vietnamese

Etymology

From English bro.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɹo˧˧], [ʔɓəː˨˩ zo˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɹow˧˧], [ʔɓəː˦˩ ʐow˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɹow˧˧], [ʔɓəː˨˩ ɹow˧˧]
Phonetic spelling: brô, bờ rô

Pronoun

bro

(slang, Vietnam) bro (used to address a person (presumably) around the same age, usually male)
các bro
you bros

bro ấy
he (that bro)
- 2021 September 6, Koi Koi, “Bất ngờ bài 'nhạc Thái' lọt top trending cao nhưng hoá ra của ca sĩ Việt, nghe vui xả stress được khen ngợi hết lời! ["Thai" song unexpectedly shoots into the top trending list but turns out to be by Vietnamese singer; listen to relieve your stress; speechlessly recommend!]”, in Kênh 14‎^[3], Hanoi: VCCorp, retrieved 2023-03-07:
  Mùa dịch này làm mấy bài vui vẻ này hợp lý quá bro ơi.
  This pandemic season makes these joyful songs so appropriate, bro.
- 2022 August 5, Ngọc Nguyễn, “Lương Minh Trang và Vinh Râu thăng hạng visual, xưng hô thân thiết”, in Thể thao & Văn hóa‎^[4], Hanoi: Vietnam News Agency, archived from the original on 8 March 2023:
  Trước đấy, khi được hỏi về mối quan hệ với "vợ cũ" Lương Minh Trang, Vinh Râu không ngần ngại thừa nhận: "Chúng tôi làm tri kỷ và thường xưng hô bằng bro".
  Earlier, when asked about his relationship with his "ex" Lương Minh Trang, Vinh Râu admits, without hesitation: "We are confidants and often address each other as bro".
- 2022 December 21, Quang Vũ, “Tóc Tiên, JustaTee hẹn fan 'cháy' cùng lễ hội Noel siêu hoành tráng tại Hà Nội [Tóc Tiên, JustaTee promises fans they'll be "on fire" at a super large-scale Christmas festival in Hanoi]”, in Thể thao & Văn hóa‎^[5], Hanoi: Vietnam News Agency, retrieved 2023-03-07:
  Giờ thì mau mau chuẩn bị lên đồ và set kèo với hội bạn để "quẩy" tung Hà Nội cùng Tóc Tiên, JustaTee, Huy DX và BNUTs thôi nào các bro ơi!
  Now hurry up and prepare to set a bet with your friends to "hang out" in Hanoi with Tóc Tiên, JustaTee, Huy DX and BNUTs, bro!

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh bro, from Proto-Brythonic *broɣ, from Proto-Celtic *mrogis. Cognate with Old Irish mruig. Cognate with Briton bro.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /broː/
Rhymes: -oː

Noun

bro f (plural bröydd or brofydd)

region, country, land, neighbourhood, native haunt
border, limit, boundary, march
vale, lowland, champaign

Mutation

Mutated forms of *bro*
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
bro	fro	mro	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “bro”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies