An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Known alternate terms include Auntie or Aunty. The male counterpart of an aunt is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece.
Additional terms
- A half-aunt is a half-sister of a parent.
- An aunt-in-law is the aunt of ones spouse. An aunt-in-law can also be an aunt by marriage (female spouse of a relative)[citation needed].
- A great-aunt[1][2]/grandaunt[3] (sometimes written grand-aunt[4]) is the sister of one's grandparent. Despite the popular usage of great-aunt, genealogists consider it more correct to use grandaunt for a grandparent's sister to avoid confusion with earlier generations. Similarly, the female siblings of one's great-grandparents are referred to as great-grandaunts.[5]
Genetics and Consanguinity
Aunts by birth (sister of a parent) are related to their nieces and nephews by 25%. As half-aunts are related through half sisters, they are related by 12.5% to their nieces and nephews. Non-consanguineous aunts (female spouse of a relative) are not genetically related to their nieces and nephews.
See also
- All pages with titles beginning with Aunt – includes many articles with titles "Aunt [name]."
- Auntie (disambiguation) (also includes "Aunty")
- Cousin
References
- ^ "Definition of great-aunt in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Google Ngram Viewer of relative versions of name". Google Ngram. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Grandaunt definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Definition of grand-aunt in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Relationship Chart by Betty Eichhorn" (PDF). devonfhs.org.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
External links
The dictionary definition of aunt at Wiktionary
The dictionary definition of grandaunt at Wiktionary
The dictionary definition of great-aunt at Wiktionary