Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a general form of address to an unnamed male or self-reflexively; cit. 1942 refers to a white man talking to the statue of a black boy.

a.1790		H.T. Potter New Dict. Cant (1795) n.p.: brother. a term used among thieves acknowledging each other.
1890		Bird o’ Freedom 22 Jan. 3: Hold on a minute, brother [...] you find fault with that parable, do you?
1906		J.W. Carr ‘Words from Northwest Arkansas’ in DN III:ii 128: brother, n. A term of supposed affection much used by the unco’ good to and of acquaintances and to strangers. ‘We would be glad to see Brother Phillips and Brother Nation come to some understanding between themselves, without having another election.’.
1912		R.W. Brown ‘Word-List From Western Indiana’ in DN III:viii 572: brother, n. A title applied to a stranger in addressing him. ‘Say, brother, can you tell me how far it is to Veedersburg?’.
1919		D. Runyon in Durham Morn. Herald (NC) 3 July 10/1: Willard is ready, brother. Still wearing both of those legs that have caused so much parlaay-voo.
1927		D. Hammett ‘$106,000 Blood Money’ Story Omnibus (1966) 323: Honest, brother, I haven’t killed a millionaire in weeks.
1938		G. Kersh Night and the City 51: All the same, brother, you know what dirty minds some people have.
1942		R. Chandler High Window 21: [I] patted the little Negro on the head again. ‘Brother, it’s even worse than I expected,’ I told him.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 103: They’re good for writin’ in blackouts, brother.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 215: Oh brother, what a pushover he’ll be, Terry was thinking.
1965		A. James America’s Homosexual Underground 77: Brother, have I got a story for you?
1977		in K. Gilbert Living Black 233: Brother, gee I like to be like you.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 150: How long it all takes brother?
1998		K. Anderson Night Dogs 184: ‘You’re only showing disrespect for yourself, brother’.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 113: Fuckin cool it, brother, you gotta chill.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 6: Inmates exchange intrixcate handshakes and formal titles: OG, young G, boo, bro, baby boy, brutha, dude, cuz, dawg, P, G, daddy, pimpin’, nigga, man, thug thizzle, my boy, my man, homie.

2. (also brotha) a black male.

[1842		Flash (NY) 11 Sept. n.p.: Emma Jones, one of her boarders, who was formerly so partial to ‘black’ [...] We presume she is too well engaged with these brothers].
[1894		Mirror of Life 17 Mar. 11/2: Green finished shaving one-half of his coloured brother's queershaped head].
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 31 Aug. 2/3: Charles Pope, a very real coon, leads a band of brothers who sing and dance, to beat the band.
1910		T.A. Dorgan in N.Y. Eve. Journal 13 Feb. 14: Those meerschaum-colored brothers in the South.
1922		Negro in Chicago (Chicago Comm. Race Relations) 563: The poor proprietor of the place, if he or she is one of the ‘brothers’ or ‘sisters’, is almost helpless in the matter.
1942		Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 14 Nov. 20/1: Monte Hawley [...] is working in several white quickies as a pale brother.
1947		M.H. Boulware Jive and Sl. 2: Brother in Black [...] Negro.
1959		C. Himes Crazy Kill 14: Doing a skit about a colored brother coming home drunk.
1965		C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 256: It seemed to be the ordinary animosity that a cat would have for a brother who was strung out.
1975		D. Goines Inner City Hoodlum 63: Here was a brown-skinned brother, caught in the web of the law.
1987		T. Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities 287: Martin said ‘One a da brothers,’ giving an Irish rendition of a black accent.
1998		Hip-Hop Connection Dec. 20: It’s just a situation where a brother chooses one way for his life.
2003		J. Lethem Fortress of Solitude 429: A stoney-eyed brother in net muscle-shirt and doo-rag.
2008		A. Wheatle Dirty South 2: Every second brother seems to be packed with a gun.
2010		K. Richards Life 157: I was feeling so ragged [...] and these brothers were so together.
2011		IOL News Western Cape) 10 May 🌐 Can only black guys be brothers?
2012		C. Stella Rough Riders 11: You’re out of your element here [...] Brothers don’t like the cold much, do you?
2014		B. Kroeber ‘Be My Alibi’ in ThugLit Sept. [ebook] You’re the dude to help a brotha out.
2020		S.A. Crosby Blacktop Wasteland 6: ‘That old Duster got some get-up-and-go!’ said a heavyset brother with a wide nose.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 20: Demodocus Johnson [...] He look too light to be a brotha.

3. a form of address to a fellow black male.

1927		E.C.L. Adams Congaree Sketches 15: Brother, you know hell is a bad place when dey got generations of ole sisters pen up together.
1935		Blanche Calloway ‘Louisiana Liza’ 🎵 This Southern maid, I’m afraid, is sure to make you fall, / She knows her stuff, calls your bluff, and brother, that ain’t all!
c.1950		K. Howard Small Time Crooks 7: Move on brother. Here’s the cop.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 86: Brother, you are as lucky as a shit-house rat.
1972		‘Soulful Spider’ ‘Pimp in a Clothing Store’ in Milner & Milner (1972) 288: Young blood, where you at, man?’ [...] ‘Oh here I am, brother, I’m right here, right here, right under you, brother, right under you, I’m on my job.’.
1980		M. Thelwell Harder They Come 142: ‘Hol ’awn, breddah,’ Jose warned.
1994		I. Welsh ‘Stoke Newington Blues’ in Acid House 37: Hey brother, you hang around with this trash, you get what comes around to you.
2000		Guardian Guide 1–6 Jan. 18: Peace brother.

4. (orig. US black) in pl., constr. with the, black people, orig. in 1960s black radical use, now used by both black and white speakers with only residual political overtones.

1969		U. Hannerz Soulside 25: Especially among some younger people, a motive occasionally offered for remaining in the ghetto is racial solidarity. Leaving less fortunate ‘brothers’ behind is ‘copping out’.
1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 189: Jimmy Keith Joy said, ‘Say, baby. That dark side of pro football you gonna jive about. You ain’t talkin’ about brothers, are you?’ .
1977		(con. 1960s) D. Goines Black Gangster (1991) 64: Let your natural get that look that Whitey thinks all militant brothers wear.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines xvii: The brothers up dere [...] they okay.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 172: He couldn’t see her enjoying a long second wind, a year, six months, poncing vodkas off the brothers.
1998		J. Hoskison Inside 134: Back in the realm of peeer pressure, ‘whitey’ was unable to mix with the brothers.
2020		D. Winslow ‘Broken’ in Broken 23: ‘They didn’t used to let the brothers buy [i.e. housing] out here’.

5. in pl., constr with the, one’s intimates, one’s close friends.

1966

T. Keyes All Night Stand 48: As far as the brothers are concerned there is not much worse than letting a woman get the upper hand.

6. a non-black male accepted in the black community.

1972		D. Claerbut Black Jargon in White America 59: brother n. […] 2. any male accepted by black people: What’s happening, brother?
1988		H. Gould Double Bang 187: A chunky brother [...] was coming through the archway. Looked like a Cubano.
1994		M. Ribowsky Don’t Look Back 49: Rube counted only one NNL owner as white—the Kansas City Monarchs’ J.L. Wilkinson, who was considered a sort-of ‘brother’ .