[MysticCat]

Originally posted by AGDee
And, we were taught the reasoning for us being a Fraternity is that the word Sorority is Latin based, but the word Fraternity is Greek based.

Originally posted by preciousjeni
As far as I know, in Greek, adelfh - "adelphay" is sister and adelfon - "adelphon" is brother.

In Latin, "frater" is brother and "soror" (or "amita" - but that has some other connotation that I can't remember) is sister.

Originally posted by BabyPiNK_FL
I recall something about Phrater (in Greek) meaning clansmen or something totally random like that, but I might be remembering poorly.

The English "Fraternity" and "Sorority" are both derived from Latin -- frater is "brother" in Latin.

preciousjeni is right that the Greek for brother is adelfon - adelphon; although there is another Greek word also meaning brother: frathr -- phrater. This is the root of the word phratry that BabyPiNK_FL is remembering. In ancient Greece, tribes (phyles) were divided into phratries, which can be translated as kinfolk, clansmen, or (loosely) brotherhood.

Frathr, frater, and even the English "brother" and the German bruder all ultimately derive from the Indo-European root bhrater, which means "brother."