Definition of Brother-in-law

1. Noun. A brother by marriage.

Generic synonyms: In-law, Relative-in-law

Definition of Brother-in-law

1. Noun. A male relative of one's generation, separated by one degree of marriage: ¹

2. Noun. (uncommon) Co-brother-in-law: A male relative of one's generation, separated by two degrees of marriage: ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Brother-in-law

brotelness
broth
broth of a boy
broth of a man
brothel creeper
brothel creepers
brothel keeper
brotheler
brothelers
brothelgoer
brothels
brother
brother-in-arms
brother-in-law (current term)
brother complex
brother german
brothered
brotherhood
brotherhoods
brothering
brotherless
brotherlessness
brotherlike
brotherliness
brotherlinesses
brotherly

Literary usage of Brother-in-law

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1920)
"be a fact, that the car was the property of the defendant, and might have been negligently driven by his brother-in-law, the defendant would still not be ..."

2. War and peace by Leo Tolstoy, Sergej Prokof'ev, Lev Tolstoj, Mira Mendelson-Prokofieva, Valerij Gerg'ev, Graham Vick, Humphrey Burton, Aleksandr Gergalov, Elena Prokina, Gegam Gregoriam, Olga Borodina, Jurij Marusin, Nikolaj Okhotnikov, Vasilij Gerelo, Irina Bogatjeva, (1904)
"... the service of a wounded general of his acquaintance, and drove with him to Moscow. On the way he was told of the death of his brother-in-law, Anatole, ..."

3. Dictionary of National Biography by LESLIE. STEPHEN (1901)
"Her brother-in-law, l)uke Ernest, who accompanied her on the occasion, did not conceal his contempt for the evolutions of her citizen soldiers, ..."

4. Notes and Queries by Martim de Albuquerque (1866)
"... to own the truth, there is not the man in the world I should like so well for a brother-in-law. I think he would just suit sister Alice. ..."

5. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register by Henry Fritz-Gilbert Waters (1898)
"To my brother in law Robert Bendish one hundred pounds. To his daughter Debora Bendish, by Mary, his now wife, fifty pounds. To my uncle John Ballowe twenty ..."

6. Man by Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1901)
"Rivers On the Functions of the Son-in-Law and Brother in-Law in Torres Strait. ... The brother-in-law has the power of stopping a fight, but apparently not ..."

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