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Webster 1913 Edition

Sister

Sis′ter

,
Noun.
[OE.
sister
, fr. Icel. systir; also
suster
, from AS.
sweostor
,
sweoster
,
swuster
, akin to OFries.
sweester
,
suster
, LG.
süster
,
suster
, D.
zuster
, OS. & OHG.
swestar
, G.
schwester
, Icel.
systir
, Sw.
syster
, Dan.
söster
, Goth.
swistar
, Lith.
ses[GREEK]
, Russ.
sestra
, Pol.
siostra
, L.
soror
, Skr.
svasr
. √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.
Shakespeare
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
.

Sis′ter

,
Verb.
T.
To be sister to; to resemble closely.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sister

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

,
Verb.
T.
To resemble closely.

SIS'TER

,
Verb.
I.
To be akin; to be near to. [Little used.]

Definition 2024

Sister

Sister

See also: sister

English

Noun

Sister ‎(plural Sisters)

  1. Title of respect for an adult female member of a religious or fraternal order.
    At the convent, Sister Grace supervises the kitchen.
  2. Formal title for any female member of a religious or fraternal organization. (Compare Miss.)
    Please welcome Sister Smith as she moves from her former congregation to her new congregation.
  3. An informal title used as part of another moniker:
    Native American leader Chief Seattle urged ecological responsibility, referring to Brother Eagle and Sister Sky in his purported 1854 speech.

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

Related terms

Anagrams

sister

sister

See also: Sister

English

Alternative forms

Noun

sister ‎(plural sisters or sistren)

  1. A daughter of the same parents as another person; a female sibling.
    My sister is always driving me crazy.
  2. A female member of a religious community; a nun.
    Michelle left behind her bank job and became a sister at the local convent.
  3. (Britain) A senior or supervisory nurse, often in a hospital.
  4. Any woman or girl with whom a bond is felt through common membership of a race, profession, religion or organization, such as feminism.
    Connie was very close to her friend Judy and considered her to be her sister.
  5. (slang) A black woman.
  6. (informal) A form of address to a woman.
    • What’s up, sister?
  7. A woman, in certain labour or socialist circles; also as a form of address.
    • Thank you, sister. I would like to thank the sister who just spoke.
  8. (attributively) An entity that has a special or affectionate, non-hierarchical relationship with another.
    sister publication, sister city, sister projects
  9. (usually attributively) In the same class.
    sister ships, sister facility

Synonyms

Antonyms

Hypernyms

  • (daughter of common parents): sibling

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

sister ‎(third-person singular simple present sisters, present participle sistering, simple past and past participle sistered)

  1. (transitive, construction) To strengthen (a supporting beam) by fastening a second beam alongside it.
    I’m trying to correct my sagging floor by sistering the joists.
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To be sister to; to resemble closely.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: usual · entirely · system · #726: sister · occasion · enemy · perfect

Anagrams

Scots

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈsɪstər]

Noun

sister ‎(plural sisters)

  1. sister

Derived terms

Etymology

From Middle English sister, suster, partly from Old Norse systir ‎(“sister”) and partly from Old English swustor, sweoster, sweostor ‎(“sister, nun”); both from Proto-Germanic *swestēr ‎(“sister”), from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr ‎(“sister”). Cognate with Scots sister, syster ‎(“sister”), West Frisian sus, suster ‎(“sister”), Dutch zuster ‎(“sister”), German Schwester ‎(“sister”), Swedish syster ‎(“sister”), Icelandic systir ‎(“sister”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌴𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍂 ‎(swēstar, “sister”), Latin soror ‎(“sister”), Russian сестра́ ‎(sestrá, “sister”), Lithuanian sesuo ‎(“sister”), Albanian vajzë ‎(“girl, maiden”), Sanskrit स्वसृ ‎(svásṛ, “sister”), Persian خواهر ‎(xâhar, “sister”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɪstə/
  • (US) enPR: sĭs'tər, IPA(key): /ˈsɪstɚ/
  • Rhymes: -ɪstə(r)

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