uncle

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See also: Uncle

English

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Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os
    Latin avunculus
    Old French unclebor.
    Middle English uncle
    English uncle

    From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.

    Pronunciation

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    • enPR: ŭngʹkəl, IPA(key): /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/
    • Audio (UK):(file)
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ʌŋkəl

    Noun

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    uncle (plural uncles)

    1. The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
      • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 14:
        And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
    2. The male cousin of one’s parent.
    3. (endearing) Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
    4. (euphemistic) Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
    5. (figuratively) A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
    6. (British, informal, dated) A pawnbroker.
      • December 1843, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Grant in Paris" (review), in Fraser's Magazine
        A chain hangs out of the pocket of his velvet waistcoat , by which we may conclude that he has a watch , though we have known many gents whose watches were at their uncle's (as the fashionable term for the pawnbroker goes)
    7. (especially in the Southern US, parts of UK and South Asia) An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
    8. (Southern US, slang, archaic) An older African-American male.
    9. (Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

    Synonyms

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    Antonyms

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    • (antonym(s) of “with regard to gender”): aunt
    • (antonym(s) of “with regard to ancestry”): niece, nephew
    • (antonym(s) of “African-American”): boy
    • (antonym(s) of “India”): aunty

    Hypernyms

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    Hyponyms

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    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Translations

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    See also: related paternal uncle and maternal uncle for more translations.

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Interjection

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    uncle

    1. A cry used to indicate surrender.

    Derived terms

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    Verb

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    uncle (third-person singular simple present uncles, present participle uncling, simple past and past participle uncled)

    1. (transitive, colloquial) To address somebody by the term uncle.
    2. (intransitive, colloquial) To act like, or as, an uncle.
      • 1979, Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
        Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford

    References

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    Anagrams

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    Middle English

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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      Borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈunklə/, /ˈunkəl/

      Noun

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      uncle (plural uncles or (rare) unclen)

      1. uncle (brother of one's parents)
        Synonym: em

      Descendants

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      • English: uncle (see there for further descendants)
      • Scots: uncle

      References

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      Old French

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      Etymology

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        From Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”).

        Noun

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        uncle oblique singular, m (oblique plural uncles, nominative singular uncles, nominative plural uncle)

        1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of oncle
          • c. 1170, Wace, Le Roman de Rou:
            D'ambes parz out filz e peres,
            uncles, nevos, cosins e freres
            On both sides there were sons and fathers,
            Uncles, nephews, cousins and brothers
          • c. 1250, Marie de France, Chevrefeuille:
            Tristram en Wales se rala, tant que sis uncles le manda
            Tristan returned to Wales, while he waited for his uncle to call on him

        Scots

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        Alternative forms

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        Etymology

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          From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)).

          Noun

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          uncle (plural uncles)

          1. uncle

          References

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