brother

1. (informal) A form of address to a man.Examples: "Brother, can you spare a dime?"; "Listen, brother, I don't know what you want, but I’m not interested."informal

2. (African-American Vernacular) A fellow black man.Examples: "[Michael Jackson] went on television and said, “I don't have sex because of my religious beliefs”, and the public believed it. I know brothers was like “get the fuck out of here!”. And white people, “Michael's a special kinda guy!”"; "SPIN: Aren't you both as popular with white people as black people? L.L.: Oh, no question. But I've always said, that's why when people say, "L.L., hey, like, on the last album, you sold out," I say, "Yo, can I ask you a question, Mike Tyson sell out?" "No, he's a brother." I say, he's a cross-over artist. He went pop. You know what I'm saying? I mean, the rap audience [...] they have to understand that their music is for all people. Me personally, I don't think it's about being black or white, […]"; "The white cop grilled me. He was tall, but had a stomach like a pregnant woman. The other two were brothers, and they looked like they just didn't wanna be standing there."

3. (poetic) Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.Examples: "The eighteenth century text, with its antislavery message and its Adamic figuration, calls implicily for the reconciliation of all peoples as "brothers" (not the reprehensible brothers of Joseph but the cocreated brothers of Adam)."; "Oh, my Brothers, five nights ago many of our braves were out upon the buffalo grounds."; "In the case of the boy, a certain amount of instruction comes from the male members of the mother's clan, such as how to go after game, how to handle horses, how to dress, how to conduct yourself and what to seek in life. They also teach the boy how to treat domestic animals. Even pets understand kindness, and the clan brothers use that as an example."poetic