An Italian word for friar or monk, a member of a religious brotherhood.
From Italian 'frate,' derived from Latin 'frater' meaning 'brother.' The term evolved in Medieval Italian to specifically denote members of monastic orders, particularly Franciscans and Dominicans.
Italian uses this word for monks because the religious communities were literally brotherhoods—'frater' is the Latin root for 'brother,' and these communities formed tight bonds like family. It's why so many Italian Renaissance paintings label holy men as 'frate'!
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