sister

sis•ter n. [countable]

Anthropologya female relative of another, having both parents in common.
Anthropologya female relative of another, having one parent in common;
half sister.
Anthropologystepsister.
a sister-in-law.
a woman or girl in the same family or social group, nationality, etc., as another.
a thing regarded as female:The ships are sisters.
Religiona woman member of a religious order whose vows are not as absolute as a nun's. [often: Sister]Her name is Sister Mary Richard.
British Termsa nurse in charge of a hospital ward;
head nurse:the sister in charge.
Informal Terms[often: Sister] (used as a form of address to a woman or girl, esp. as a joke but sometimes insultingly).

adj. [before a noun]

being or considered a sister;
related by or as if by sisterhood:our sister city across the river.

sis•ter•ly, adj.: a sisterly kiss on the cheek.

sis•ter n.

Anthropologya female offspring having both parents in common with another offspring;
female sibling.
AnthropologyAlso called half sister. a female offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.
Anthropologystepsister.
a female friend or protector regarded as a sister.
a thing regarded as feminine and associated as if by kinship with something else:The ships are sisters.
a female fellow member, as of a church.
Religiona female member of a religious community that observes the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
British Termsa nurse in charge of a hospital ward;
head nurse.
a fellow black woman.
a woman who supports, promotes, or participates in feminism.
Informal Termsa form of address used to a woman or girl, esp. jocularly or contemptuously:Listen, sister, you've had enough.

adj.

being or considered a sister;
related by or as if by sisterhood:sister ships.
having a close relationship with another because of shared interests, problems, or the like:We correspond with school children in our sister city.
Biochemistrybeing one of an identical pair.

*swesor), Old Irish siur, Welsh chwaer, Sanskrit svasar sister, Greek éor daughter, niece
Old Norse systir; cognate with Old English sweoster, Dutch zuster, German Schwester, Gothic swistar; akin to Serbo-Croatian sèstra, Lithuanian sesuõ, Latin soror (
Middle English (noun, nominal) bef. 900

sis′ter•less, adj.
sis′ter•like′, adj.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sister /ˈsɪstə/ n

a female person having the same parents as another person
See half-sister, stepsister
a female person who belongs to the same group, trade union, etc, as another or others
a senior nurse
chiefly a nun or a title given to a nun
a woman fellow member of a Church or religious body
(modifier) belonging to the same class, fleet, etc, as another or others: a sister ship
(modifier) denoting any of the cells or cell components formed by division of a parent cell or cell component: sister nuclei

Etymology: Old English sweostor; related to Old Norse systir, Old High German swester, Gothic swistar

'sister' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

Collocations: my [elder, older, oldest, younger, youngest] sister, a sister [city, site, company], she is only my half-sister, more...

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