nuncle
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From rebracketing of phrases an uncle, mine uncle, thine uncle, etc. Compare neam and naunt.
For the verb, OED suggests an evolution in sense "to claim to be one's uncle" > "to cheat". It compares this derivation with cozen, which it derives from cousin.
For the technical anthropological sense, compare nibling.
Noun[edit]
nuncle (plural nuncles)
- (archaic or dialectal) Uncle.
- 1605, Shakespeare, King Lear:
- Fool: Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a yeoman?
- (linguistics, anthropology, in the study of kinship terminology) Aunt or uncle; sibling of a parent (regardless of gender).
Verb[edit]
nuncle (third-person singular simple present nuncles, present participle nuncling, simple past and past participle nuncled)