Cousin
Pronunciation
- IPA: /kuËˈzæâ¿/
- Rhymes: -ʌzən
- Homophones: cozen
Origin
From Old French cosin, from Latin cÅnsÅbrÄ«nus, from com- + sÅbrÄ«nus.
Full definition of cousin
Noun
cousin
(plural cousins)- The son or daughter of a person’s uncle or aunt; a first cousin.I think my cousin could possibly be gay or bi.
- Any relation who is not a direct ancestor or descendant; one more distantly related than an uncle, aunt, granduncle, grandaunt, nephew, niece, grandnephew, grandniece, etc.
- (obsolete) A title formerly given by a king to a nobleman, particularly to those of the council. In English writs, etc., issued by the crown, it signifies any earl.
- ShakespeareMy noble lords and cousins, all, good morrow.
Usage notes
People who have common grandparents but different parents are first cousins. People who have common great-grandparents but no common grandparents and different parents are second cousins, and so on.
In general, one’s nth cousin is anyone other than oneself or one's siblings found by going back n+1 generations and then forward n+1 generations. One of my first cousin's parents is one of my parents' siblings. One of my second cousin's grandparents is one of my grandparents' siblings.
The child of one’s first cousin is one’s first cousin once removed; the grandchild of one’s first cousin is one’s first cousin twice removed, and so on. For example, if Phil and Marie are first cousins, and Marie has a son Andre, then Phil and Andre are first cousins once removed.
In the southern US, the relation is considered the number of links between two people of common ancestry to the common aunt or uncle.
A patrilineal or paternal cousin is a father's niece or nephew, and a matrilineal or maternal cousin a mother's. Paternal and maternal parallel cousins are father's brother's child and mother's sister's child, respectively; paternal and maternal cross cousins are father's sister's child and mother's brother's child, respectively.
Synonyms
- (nephew or niece of one's parent) first cousin