Definition of "confraternity" []

• An association of persons united in a common purpose or profession. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "To call the confraternity "Lefebvrist" and non-catholic reflects one or other of these positions."
• "A confraternity is a society of persons associated for some pious object."
• "Perhaps the most noteworthy characteristic of the confraternity is the rapidity with which it has spread throughout every portion of the world."