Fraternities and sororities

While the terms "fraternity" and "sorority" may be used to describe any number of social and charitable organizations, including the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, International, and the Shriners, in the United States and Canada fraternities and sororities are most commonly known as social organizations of higher education students (though there are organizations like fraternities in other countries as well; for example, the German Student Corps). Fraternities are all-male or mixed-sex; the female-only equivalent is called a sorority, a word coined by Gamma Phi Beta in 1874. Consequently, there exist some all-female fraternities which were named before this, such as Kappa Alpha Theta, founded in 1870. Fraternities and sororities are also referred to as student corporations or academic corporations, or simply corporations.

Related Topics:
Lions Club - Epsilon Sigma Alpha - Shriners - United States - Canada - Higher education - Student - German Student Corps - Fraternities - Gamma Phi Beta - 1874 - Kappa Alpha Theta - 1870

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With few exceptions (notably "Acacia," "FarmHouse," and "Triangle"), the names of fraternities and sororities consist of two or (usually) three Greek letters. For this reason, fraternities and sororities are known collectively as the Greek System, and its members are known as Greeks. The use of Greek letters started with the first such organization, Phi Beta Kappa, which used Greek letters to hide their secret name.

Related Topics:
Acacia - FarmHouse - Triangle - Greek - Phi Beta Kappa

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