English Reference

Word

fra

Phoneticsfra

Definition

n. a title for a monk or a member of a religious group in the Catholic Church. It is a short form of the word 'friar'.

n. a title or form of address for a friar or monk in certain religious orders. Derived from the Italian and Latin words for 'brother'.

Examples

“The local people often asked Fra Angelico for advice.”

“The historical documents mention a certain Fra Giovanni who lived in the monastery during the fifteenth century.”

“Art historians frequently study the frescoes of Fra Angelico to understand the transition from Gothic to Renaissance styles in religious painting.”

Examples

simple

“The local people often asked Fra Angelico for advice.”

contextual

“The historical documents mention a certain Fra Giovanni who lived in the monastery during the fifteenth century.”

complex

“Art historians frequently study the frescoes of Fra Angelico to understand the transition from Gothic to Renaissance styles in religious painting.”

Usage

Used as a title before a name, similar to 'Brother' or 'Father'.

Etymology

Shortened form of Italian frate (“monk”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domain

Finance

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/fra

English Reference