Uncle Definition
- avuncularity
- avunculus (Latin)
- elder
- mother's brother
- father's brother
(uncle gained by marriage): uncle-in-law.
Other Word Forms of Uncle
Noun
Origin of Uncle
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Middle English uncle, from Anglo-Norman uncle, from Old French oncle, from Latin avunculus (“mother's brother"; literally, “little grandfather"), diminutive of avus (“grandfather"), from Proto-Indo-European *awo- (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one's father"). Displaced native Middle English eam, eme (“maternal uncle") (from Old English Ä“am (“maternal uncle"), compare Old English fædera (“paternal uncle") from the same Proto-Indo-European root. More at eme.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English from Anglo-Norman from Latin avunculus maternal uncle awo- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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