uncle

English

/ˈʌŋ.kəl/, /ˈʌŋ.kəl/, /ˈʌŋ.kəl/, [ˈɐŋ.kəɫ]

noun
Definitions
  • The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
  • (affectionate) The male cousin of one’s parent.
  • (euphemistic) A companion to one's (usually unmarried) mother.
  • (figuratively) A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
  • (British) A pawnbroker.
  • (especially in the) a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
  • (Southern US) An older male African-American person.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English uncle borrowed from uncle derived from Old French oncle derived from Latin *aunclum, avunculus (maternal uncle, little grandfather, mother's brother, uncle, mothers brother) derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo (little grandfather).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*h₂euh₂-n-tlo

Gloss

little grandfather

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms