Fraa

Fraa is an honorific used inside a math to address or refer to male avout. It is placed before the bearer’s name (for example, “Fraa Lio”), and the plural form “fraas” is used when speaking of multiple men in this role. In the same context, women are addressed as “suurs” (e.g., Suur Trestanas).

Usage and Context

Within a Decenarian math, the title appears both as a direct form of address and as a generic descriptor. During a lesson on the iconographies led by a senior teacher, several avout are addressed as “Fraa …” (e.g., Orolo, Lio, Arsibalt, Corlandin), and the narrator also refers to “older fraas and suurs” performing chores such as assembling sandals. The term can be used generically even when a person is formally addressed as “Fid,” as when a questioned student is described as “a twenty‑one‑year‑old fraa.” Duties cited alongside the title include routine work inside the Cloister (e.g., sandal‑making) and bell‑ringing teams.

Forms and Grammar

• Singular: Fraa (often capitalized before a name); generic "fraa" in lower case mid‑sentence
• Plural: fraas
• May be used generically to describe a male avout, including someone presently addressed as “Fid …” in a formal setting

Notable Bearers (examples)

• Fraa Erasmas, an avout of a Decenarian math
• Fraa Lio, a peer of the narrator in the same community
• Fraa Orolo, a senior cosmographer

Notes

• The term is specific to life inside a math and is part of the community’s formal modes of address. It appears alongside the feminine form “Suur.”
• Contexts shown include classrooms (chalk halls), shared cells, and common work around the Cloister.