Brer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dialect contraction of brother, used as a form of address for a male friend or fellow in folk tales such as the Uncle Remus stories
2. A colloquial spelling of brother, typically placed before a name as a title of familiarity, as in the animal characters of Southern American folklore
3. Dialect term meaning brother, used especially in African American folk storytelling as a familiar way of addressing a male companion

Etymology: "Brer" is a dialect contraction of "brother," used most famously as a form of address in the Uncle Remus stories of Joel Chandler Harris, where the animal characters call one another "Brer Rabbit," "Brer Fox," and "Brer Bear." The word is an alternative spelling of "br'er," with the apostrophe marking the dropped vowel and consonant of "brother" as it was pronounced in the speech of the American South, and it was used in that sense before the stories made it famous. Its meaning is simply "brother," used as a title before a name.

Synonyms: brother, bro