BROTHER-IN-LAW Definition & Meaning

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brother-in-law

[bruhth-er-in-law]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural

brothers-in-law

the brother of one's spouse.
the husband of one's sister or brother.
the husband of one's spouse's sister or brother.

brother-in-law

noun

the brother of one's wife or husband
the husband of one's sister
the husband of the sister of one's husband or wife

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of brother-in-law¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brother in law(e); brother, in, law ¹; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

My brother-in-law had taken way too many weed gummies, so he wasn’t the best audience, but at the end, he’s like, “Are they in outer space?”

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She said she saw the driver recording her and her brother-in-law at the home.

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“Frank, if you kill me you make your sister a widow,” one striker informed her brother-in-law in the Guard.

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It wasn't until Mr Williams had a chance conversation with his brother-in-law Ronald Oswell, that he says he realised what had happened.

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Ms Brady's brother-in-law who lives nearby made his way to the house after hearing about the fire.

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aunt��
cousin��
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brotherhood Brother Jonathan

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