Adjacent Words

Sister definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SIS'TER, n.
1. A female born of the same patents; correlative to brother.
2. A woman of the same faith; a female fellow christian. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food. James 2.
3. A female of the same kind.
4. One of the same kind, or of the same condition; as sister-fruits.
5. A female of the same society; as the nuns of a convent.
SIS'TER, v.t. To resemble closely.
SIS'TER, v.i. To be akin; to be near to. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a female person who has the same parents as another person; "my sister married a musician" [syn: sister, sis] [ant: blood brother, brother]
2: (Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a nun (and used as a form of address); "the Sisters taught her to love God"
3: a female person who is a fellow member of a sorority or labor union or other group; "none of her sisters would betray her"
4: (slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women [syn: baby, babe, sister]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English suster, sister, partly from Old English sweostor and partly from Old Norse systir sister; akin to Latin soror sister, Sanskrit svas? Date: before 12th century 1. a female who has one or both parents in common with another 2. often capitalized a. a member of a women's religious order (as of nuns or deaconesses); especially one of a Roman Catholic congregation under simple vows b. a girl or woman who is a member of a Christian church 3. a. a girl or woman regarded as a comrade b. a girl or woman who shares with another a common national or racial origin; especially a black girl or woman 4. one that is closely similar to or associated with another <sister schools> <sister cities> 5. chiefly British nurse 6. a. girl, woman b. person — usually used in the phrase weak sister 7. a member of a sorority

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a woman or girl in relation to sons and other daughters of her parents. 2 a (often as a form of address) a close female friend or associate. b a female fellow member of a trade union, class, sect, or the human race. 3 a senior female nurse. 4 a member of a female religious order. 5 (attrib.) of the same type or design or origin etc. (sister ship; prose, the younger sister of verse). Phrases and idioms: sister german see GERMAN. sister-in-law (pl. sisters-in-law) 1 the sister of one's wife or husband. 2 the wife of one's brother. 3 the wife of one's brother-in-law. Sister of Mercy a member of an educational or charitable order of women, esp. that founded in Dublin in 1827. sister uterine see UTERINE. Derivatives: sisterless adj. sisterly adj. sisterliness n. Etymology: ME sister (f. ON), suster etc. (repr. OE sweoster f. Gmc)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sister Sis"ter, n. [OE. sister, fr. Icel. systir; also suster, from AS. sweostor, sweoster, swuster, akin to OFries. sweester, suster, LG. s["u]ster, suster, D. zuster, OS. & OHG. swestar, G. schwester, Icel. systir, Sw. syster, Dan. s["o]ster, Goth. swistar, Lith. ses?, Russ. sestra, Pol. siostra, L. soror, Skr. svasr. [root]298. Cf. Cousin.] 1. A female who has the same parents with another person, or who has one of them only. In the latter case, she is more definitely called a half sister. The correlative of brother. I am the sister of one Claudio. --Shak. 2. A woman who is closely allied to, or assocciated with, another person, as in the sdame faith, society, order, or community. --James ii. 15. 3. One of the same kind, or of the same condition; -- generally used adjectively; as, sister fruits. --Pope. Sister Block (Naut.), a tackle block having two sheaves, one above the other. Sister hooks, a pair of hooks fitted together, the shank of one forming a mousing for the other; -- called also match hook. Sister of charity, Sister of mercy. (R. C. Ch.) See under Charity, and Mercy.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sister Sis"ter, v. t. To be sister to; to resemble closely. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sisters) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Your sister is a girl or woman who has the same parents as you. His sister Sarah helped him. ...Vanessa Bell, the sister of Virginia Woolf... I didn't know you had a sister. N-COUNT: oft poss N see also half-sister, stepsister 2. Sister is a title given to a woman who belongs to a religious community. Sister Francesca entered the chapel. ...the Hospice of the Sisters of Charity at Lourdes. N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC 3. A sister is a senior female nurse who supervises part of a hospital. (BRIT) Ask to speak to the sister on the ward... Sister Middleton followed the coffee trolley. N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC 4. You can describe a woman as your sister if you feel a connection with her, for example because she belongs to the same race, religion, country, or profession. Modern woman has been freed from many of the duties that befell her sisters in times past. N-COUNT: usu poss N 5. You can use sister to describe something that is of the same type or is connected in some way to another thing you have mentioned. For example, if a company has a sister company, they are connected. ...the International Monetary Fund and its sister organisation, the World Bank. ADJ: ADJ n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sis'-ter ('achoth): Used repeatedly in the Old Testament of a female

(1) having the same parents as another; or

(2) having one parent in common, with another, half-sister (Ge 20:12; Le 18:9), and also

(3) of a female belonging to the same family or clan as another, so a kinswoman (Ge 24:60; Job 42:11);

(4) also of a woman of the same country (Nu 25:18).

(5) Figuratively, the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, are sisters (Eze 23:7 ).

(6) Confederate cities are conceived of as sisters (Eze 16:45 ).

(7) 'Achoth is used of objects which go in pairs, as curtains, each `coupled to its sister' (Ex 26:3,6), and of wings in pairs (Eze 1:9; 3:13);

(8) of virtues or conditions, with which one is closely related: "Say unto wisdom, thou art my sister" (Pr 7:4; compare Job 17:14);

(9) of a lover concerning his spouse, as a term of endearment (So 4:9 f; 5:1 f; 8:8).

In the New Testament, adelphe, used

(1) in sense of physical or blood kinship (Mt 12:50; 13:56; 19:29; Lu 10:39 f; 14:26; Joh 11:1 ff; 19:25; Ac 23:16);

(2) of fellow-members in Christ: "Phoebe, our sister" (Ro 16:1; see also 1Co 7:15; 1Ti 5:1; Jas 2:15);

(3) possibly, of a church, "thy elect sister" (2 Joh 1:13).

See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.

Edward Bagby Pollard

Moby Thesaurus

Greek, LPN, RN, abbess, affiliate, ally, alter ego, analogon, analogue, associate, aunt, auntie, belonger, blood brother, brethren, brother, bub, bubba, bud, buddy, canoness, card-carrier, card-carrying member, cardholder, catechumen, charge nurse, charter member, church member, churchman, churchwoman, clergywoman, close copy, close match, clubber, clubman, clubwoman, cognate, committeeman, communicant, companion, complement, comrade, congenator, congener, conventioneer, conventioner, conventionist, conventual, coordinate, correlate, correlative, correspondent, counterpart, country cousin, cousin, cousin once removed, cousin twice removed, daughter, district nurse, dues-paying member, enlistee, enrollee, equivalent, father, fellow, first cousin, foster brother, frater, fraternity man, graduate nurse, grandnephew, grandniece, granduncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, guildsman, half brother, honorary member, image, initiate, insider, joiner, kid brother, kindred spirit, lady superior, laic, lay brother, lay sister, layman, laywoman, licensed practical nurse, life member, like, likeness, mate, member, mother, mother superior, near duplicate, nephew, niece, novice, nun, nuncle, nunks, nunky, nurse, nursing sister, obverse, one of us, parallel, parishioner, pendant, picture, pledge, postulant, practical nurse, prioress, private-duty nurse, probationer, probationist, probe, public health nurse, reciprocal, registered nurse, religieuse, school nurse, scrub nurse, second cousin, second self, secular, secular canoness, similitude, simulacrum, sis, sissy, sister-german, sistern, socius, son, sorority girl, sorority woman, soul mate, stepbrother, stepsister, student nurse, such, suchlike, superioress, surgical nurse, tally, the like of, the likes of, the reverend mother, trained nurse, twin, unc, uncle, uncs, uterine brother, visiting nurse