See also: Uncle

English edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

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

Noun edit

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. (Britain, 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, informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Hypernyms edit

Hyponyms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

Translations edit

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.

Interjection edit

uncle

  1. A cry used to indicate surrender.

Derived terms edit

Verb edit

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 edit

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈunklə/, /ˈunkəl/

Noun edit

uncle (plural uncles or (rare) unclen)

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

Descendants edit

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

References edit

Old French edit

Noun edit

uncle oblique singularm (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 edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

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)).

Noun edit

uncle (plural uncles)

  1. uncle

References edit