Meaning
A close male friend, or a group of close friends — brothers by bond rather than by blood. Unlike English 'brethren', it is used freely for a single person as well as for many, so 'mi bredren' can mean my one close brother-friend. Rooted in Rastafari fellowship, where the bredren are the men of the community, it carries deep warmth, loyalty, and solidarity, naming the trusted companion who is family in all but blood, and it stands beside 'sistren', 'idren', and 'spar'.
Examples
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Him a mi bredren from primary school.
He is my close friend from primary school.
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Mi an mi bredren dem a go a di dance.
My friends and I are going to the dance.
"dem" pluralises the noun.
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Respect, mi bredren.
Respect, my brother.
A warm sign-off between friends.
Origin
From the archaic English plural "brethren", retained in Jamaican speech through church usage and later carried into Rastafari and everyday Patois, where it shifted to cover the singular too.
How it’s used
The female counterpart is sistren. In Rastafari contexts bredren carries a spiritual weight close to "fellow believer". Using it for someone you barely know can sound presumptuous.