bruvver

English

Etymology

Representing the Cockney or Multicultural London English pronunciation of brother (th-fronting).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ʹbrə-vər
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʌ.və(ɹ)/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbɹʌ.vɚ/
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌvə(ɹ)

Noun

bruvver (plural bruvvers)

  1. (Cockney, MLE, slang) Brother.
    • 1953, Ezra Pound, letter to Margaret Anderson, reproduced in Thomas L. Scott et al. (editors), Pound/The Little Review: the Letters of Ezra Pound to Margaret Anderson, New Directions Books (1988), page 314:
      Gurdjieff I thot a man an a bruvver, but NObuddy is goin to swallow Ouspensky
    • 1992, Harry Bowling, The girl from Cotton Lane, Headline Book Publishing:
      Gawd knows when yer bruvver's gonna get married.
  2. Nonstandard form of brother.
    • 1973, Toni Morrison, Sula, page 60:
      Chicken was still elated. "I was way up there, wasn’t I? Wasn’t I? I’m a tell my brovver."

Derived terms

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