first cousin

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
Kinship relations in English

Noun

[edit]

first cousin (plural first cousins)

  1. A child of a parent's sibling; a nephew or niece of a parent; a child of one's uncle or aunt.
  2. A relative who has with the other person only two grandparents or one grandparent (maternal or paternal) in common, but parents are different.
  3. (figurative, by extension) Anything closely related.
    • 1878, Connecticut Churchman, volume 37, page 246:
      [] that coarseness which is first cousin to sin.
    • 1920, Boys' Life, volume 10, number 4, page 22:
      [H]e was afraid the Mexicans, who were, he claimed, first cousin to the spigotties, would catch us off our guard and give us the same treatment.

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Starting with two first cousins (two persons with a common grandparent), the relationship between one of those persons and the offspring of the other is first cousin once removed.
  • The relationship between one of those persons and the grandchild of the other is first cousin twice removed.
  • The relationship between one of those persons and the great-grandchild of the other is first cousin thrice removed.

Synonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]