Rahel is Estha's female fraternal twin

Question

HiAlthough I am familiar with the meaning of fraternal, I don't understand it here. Could you please  explain the use of this word in these sentences?Estha is Rahel's male fraternal twin.Rahel  is Estha's female fraternal twin.What if I delete this word? Will the sentence remain intact?Thanks a lot,Tom

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

There are different kinds of twins.

Have a look here.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3518

And here

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Fraternal+twins&ei=Ux3iSoOIE4nf8Qavzbn4AQ&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAoQkAE

Yankee · Answer

Mr. TomEstha is Rahel's male fraternal twin.
Rahel is Estha's female fraternal twin.

What if I delete this word? Will the sentence remain intact?

Hi Tom
Since I'm not familiar with either one of those names, if I had to guess the genders of the two people based on name alone, I'd guess that Estha is female and Rahel is male.

Your sentences tell me (1) that my guess would have been incorrect, AND (2) that Estha and Rahel are (fraternal) twins.

Generally speaking, if you simply say "twins" (i.e. without the word "fraternal"), I think most people will usually assume you are referring to "identical twins" (i.e. both the same gender).

Rahel is Estha's female fraternal twin

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