English Has One Word Where Others Have Several
An uncle is a parent's brother. Many languages distinguish maternal from paternal uncles with separate words.
An uncle is the brother of your father or mother, or the husband of your aunt. English lumps together what many languages carefully separate: Swedish has *farbror* and *morbror*, father's brother and mother's brother, and Mandarin, Hindi and Arabic all distinguish maternal from paternal. Latin did too — *patruus* for the father's brother and *avunculus*, a little grandfather, for the mother's. English took *avunculus*, which is why the adjective is *avuncular* while the noun is *uncle*.
- A parent's brother. *My uncle.*
- Avuncular — like an uncle. *Avuncular.*
- Aunt — the female counterpart. *An aunt.*
- Latin — *avunculus*, mother's brother. *The source.*
- Say uncle — to admit defeat. *Say uncle.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | uncle | An uncle. |
| Plural | uncles | Uncles. |
| Adjective | avuncular | Avuncular. |
| Female | aunt | An aunt. |
| Latin | avunculus | Mother's brother. |
- My uncle lives abroad.Family.
- He took an avuncular interest.Adjective.
- Latin had two separate words.Comparison.
Uncle words in other languages
- Swedish — *farbror* and *morbror*
- Latin — *patruus* and *avunculus*
- Mandarin — separate words by side and by age relative to the parent
- Hindi — *chacha*, *mama*, *phupha* and more
- English — one word for all of them
Old French *oncle*, from Latin *avunculus*, a mother's brother, a diminutive of *avus*, a grandfather.
Why is the adjective avuncular?
Because English took the noun from French oncle but the adjective directly from Latin avunculus, so they no longer look alike.
What did avunculus mean literally?
Little grandfather. It named specifically the mother's brother, distinct from patruus, the father's brother.