Uncle

For other uses, see Uncle (disambiguation).

American children with their uncle at a pool

Uncle (from Latin: avunculus "little grandfather", the diminutive of avus "grandfather") is a male family relationship or kinship within an extended or immediate family. An uncle is the brother, brother-in-law or half-brother of one's parent. A biological uncle is a second degree male relative and shares 25% genetic overlap.

A woman with the equivalent relationship of an uncle is an aunt. The reciprocal relationship to both of these is that of a nephew or niece.

A great-uncle (sometimes written as great uncle, grand-uncle or granduncle) is the brother or brother-in-law of one's grandparent.

Cultural variations

In some cultures and families, children may refer to the cousins of their parents as "aunt" or "uncle". It is also a title of respect for elders (for example older cousins, neighbors, acquaintances, close family friends, and even sometimes total strangers). Using the term in this way is a form of fictive kinship.

Albanian, Slavic, and Persian

In some cultures, like Albanian, Slavic, or Persian, no single inclusive term describing both a person's kinship to their parental male sibling or parental male in-law exists. Instead, there are specific terms describing a person's kinship to their mother's brother ("dajë" in Albanian language, "daiyee" in Persian) or a person's kinship to their father's brother ("xhajë" in Albanian, "amou" in Persian). An analogous differentiation exists using separate terms to describe a person's kinship to their mother's female sibling, ("teze" in Albanian, "khaleh" in Persian), and a person's kinship to their father's female sibling, ("hallë" in Albanian, "ammeh" in Persian).

Furthermore, in Persian culture the terms used to describe a person's kinship to their maternal or paternal in-laws bear clear and unambiguous descriptions of that relationship, differentiating the parental in-laws from blood-relatives. For example, there is a specific term describing a person's kinship to the spouse of their paternal uncle (i.e. "zan-amou", literally 'wife-of-' amou). This clarifies that kinship is to the spouse of the person's paternal male sibling, as opposed to a blood-relationship.

Irish

Uncles and aunts are considered important in modern Irish culture and are usually chosen to be godfather or godmother of children during Catholic baptism. A young Irish person might seek the counsel of their favourite aunt or uncle before making an important decision and the opinion of the respective aunt or uncle is treated seriously.

See also

• Cousin
• Bob's your uncle
• Say Uncle
• Uncle Sam

External links

• The dictionary definition of uncle at Wiktionary
• The dictionary definition of granduncle at Wiktionary
• The dictionary definition of great-uncle at Wiktionary