Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fellow member of a fraternity or profession; a colleague.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A colleague; a fellow-member; an associate in something.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Fellow member of a fraternity; intimate associate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a colleague or fellow, especially a professional one

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who is member of one's class or profession

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin cōnfrāter : Latin com-, com- + Latin frāter, brother; see bhrāter- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • The President of Carleton University, we remember best as the youthful Chairman of the CBC, but prior to that, Mr. Dunton had studied at McGill and Cambridge while his confrere was attending the University of Montreal and the Sorbonne.

    The Work of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism 1964

  • The doctor looked after him with a queer expression in his eyes and then called his confrere to the pallet.

    Jane Cable George Barr McCutcheon 1897

  • "Well, to resume, what shall I tell you, young 'confrere'?"

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • "Does he imagine, the young 'confrere', that I am going to believe his time so fully occupied that he must make a special arrangement to give me an hour?"

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • Decidedly, he understood life, the young 'confrere'; he might be called in consultation with his heavy appearance and careless toilet, there was no danger of rivalry.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • Before a 'confrere' she was certain he would not ask her dangerous questions.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • He did not lose himself in idle words, the young 'confrere', any more than in useless details.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • Some of them walked alone, briskly, in a great hurry; others demonstrated a skilful tardiness, stopping to talk politely to a journalist, and to give him notes of the day's meeting, or continuing, with a 'confrere' who was not an Academician, the conversation begun in the room of the 'pas-perdus'; it was the Bourse of consultations that was just closed.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • Although Balzajette read only a morning paper, and never opened a book, he had heard of Saniel's reputation, and because he was young he thought he might manage this 'confrere', who seemed destined to make a good position.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

  • Before a 'confrere' she was certain he would not ask her dangerous questions.

    Conscience — Complete Hector Malot 1868

Comments

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  • as a French teacher, I use 'confrere' as a frequent substitute for 'classmate' in grade comments.

    September 26, 2011