What Does It Mean When Someone Says “Broski?”

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Exploring the meaning, uses, context, and history of bro culture

Co-authored by Carmine Shannon Reviewed by Anyah Le Gilmore-Jones

Last Updated: October 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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What does broski mean?

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Broski Origins

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What is bro(ski) culture?

Broski is a less popular form of the word bro—AKA another fun, casual way to address your friends. While it’s easy to use (just substitute it for “bro” or “dude”), you may be wondering how exactly it is different from other male terms of endearment and whether or not it only refers to men. This comprehensive article will go over everything you could ever want to know about broski, so you can be confident using it in no time!

Broski Meaning

Broski is a slang term people use to affectionately refer to a close friend, usually a man, and is similar to the word "bro." A broski is like a brother, and a group of broskis is a tight-knit friend group. Broski, like other “bro culture” terms, can be negatively associated with toxic masculinity.

Section 1 of 3:

What does broski mean?

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Broskis are close friends. Broski, like bro, is a term of endearment that comes out of “bro culture.”^{[1]
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Research source} Broski can refer to a single person or a group of tight-knit friends—broskis. Bro culture bros (distinguished by their frequent use of bro) may use this word interchangeably with “dude” to refer to someone without actually commenting on their relationship.
- Broski is less popular than the word bro and is a loose synonym for dude, brother, or buddy.
- Some alternate spellings are broskie and brosky.
- What’s up broski, haven’t seen you in a while.
- The broskis and I are going out for drinks tonight.
- Pour me a beer, broski.
- Hey broski, take it easy. I’m just trying to have a nice time here.
- Don’t worry, he’s cool. He’s my broski.
- Nice to meet ya, broski.
- I love you, broski.
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A “broski” can be a person of any gender. While it originally referred only to males, bro, and therefore broski, has become so popular that anyone and everyone can use it. Some people may not want to be called it, however, so only use it with people who are cool with being a broski.
- Make sure your friends don’t feel like you’re making fun of them when you use this term. Due to the connotations of bro culture (stupidity, misogyny, etc.), you may want to ask before using it and explain that it’s a term of endearment.

Section 2 of 3:

Broski Origins

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Broski is a variation of the word “bro,” and means "brother." Bro, short for brother, dates back to the 16th century, although it may have only been used as an abbreviation in writing. Bro, as we know it today, comes from African American English and has been used in black churches for at least two centuries.^{[2]
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- In many churches, most notably black churches, men are often referred to as “brother,” shortened to “bro.” Due to the destruction of black historical documents and a lack of access to the tools needed for written records, the abbreviation could have been used much earlier than the 1800s.
  - “Bro” and “ bruh” were originally used as prefixes, like Mr.
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“Ski” is a Slavic suffix that turns nouns into adjectives. The ending “-ski” has gained popularity in English slang over the last two decades. It’s used as a diminutive (only in English), which means it makes a word more playful and casual, like turning “whatever” into “whatevski” or “brew” into “brewski.”^{[3]
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- We’re out of brewskis, broski.
  Whatevski, let’s hit the store.
A bromanteau, a play on "portmanteau," is a word made up of “bro” and another word. Some of the most commonly used are “bromance” (bro romance), “brogrammer” (a very bro-y programmer), and “brobituary” (an elegy for a bro that has left the brosphere for a partner or job).^{[4]
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Section 3 of 3:

What is bro(ski) culture?

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The word “bro” was popularly used during the 20th century in American activist movements, especially those fighting for black liberation. Non-black participants of these movements took to using the word, and then young white people began using it to emulate black culture.^{[5]
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When bro culture began, a “bro” was someone who used the word bro—a lot. Usually, the stereotypical bro was a white frat brother, and the term became associated with male airheads, backward baseball caps, salmon shorts, misogyny, and boat shoes.^{[6]
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While the bro culture’s bro was used positively among frat boys, those frat boys also became the butt of bro jokes. With the amount of bro-ing around that came from making fun of young, dumb men, bro became a word for anyone and everyone.^{[7]
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