noun, plural phra·tries. 1.a grouping of clans or other social units within a tribe.
2.(in ancient Greece) a subdivision of a phyle.
Origin: 1745–55; <
Greek phrātría, equivalent to
phrātr-, stem of
phrātḗr clansman (akin to
brother) +
-ia -y3 Related forms phra·tric, phra·tral, phra·tri·ac, phra·tri·al, adjective
sub·phra·try, noun, plural sub·phra·tries.