brothers and sisters

     Brothers and sisters--that one is obvious--the same mother, the same father. A term you rarely hear anymore is half-brother or half-sister--meaning the same mother, but different fathers--or the same father, but different mothers. Now that so many people marry more than once, this term should be more useful than ever. Half-brothers and half-sisters are related, though not as closely related as brothers and sisters are. Half-brothers and half-sisters may have different last names, even though they are closely related. Not to be confused with step-brothers and step-sisters, meaning the woman and the man marrying for the second time each have children from a previous marriage. Step-brothers-and step-sisters are not biologically related--although if their parents have a child together, that child will be a half-brother or sister to all of them.