cousin

cousin
cousin (n.) mid-12c., from O.Fr. cosin (12c., Mod.Fr. cousin) "nephew, kinsman, cousin," from L. consobrinus "cousin," originally "mother's sister's son," from com- "together" (see COM- (Cf. com-)) + sobrinus (earlier *sosrinos) "cousin on mother's side," from soror (gen. sororis) "sister." It. cugino, Dan. kusine, Pol. kuzyn also are from French. Ger. vetter is from O.H.G. fetiro "uncle."
Many IE languages (including Irish, Sanskrit, Slavic, and some of the Germanic tongues) have or had separate words for some or all of the eight possible "cousin" relationships, e.g. Latin, which along with consobrinus had consobrina "mother's sister's daughter," patruelis "father's brother's son," atruelis "mother's brother's son," amitinus "father's sister's son," etc. O.E. distinguished fæderan sunu "father's brother's son," modrigan sunu "mother's sister's son," etc.
Words for cousin tend to drift to "nephew" on the notion of "father's nephew." Used familiarly as a term of address since early 15c., especially in Cornwall. Phrase kissing cousin is Southern U.S. expression, 1940s, apparently denoting "those close enough to be kissed in salutation;" Kentish cousin (1796) is an old British term for "distant relative."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • cousin — cousin, ine 1. (kou zin, zi n ) s. m. et f. 1°   Il se dit de tous les parents ou alliés autres que ceux qui ont un nom spécial. Les cousins germains sont les cousins issus de frères ou soeurs. Les cousins issus de cousins germains sont les… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Cousin — bezeichnet: einen Verwandtschaftsgrad, siehe Verwandtschaftsbeziehung#Cousin und Cousine Cousin Island, Insel der Seychellen Cousin (Fluss), Fluss in Frankreich Cousin ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Daniel Cousin (* 1977), gabunischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • cousin — [kuz′ən] n. [ME cosin < OFr < L consobrinus, orig., child of a mother s sister, also cousin, relation < com , with + sobrinus, cousin on the mother s side < base of soror, SISTER] 1. Obs. a collateral relative more distant than a… …   English World dictionary

  • COUSIN (J.) — COUSIN JEAN, LE PÈRE (1490 env. env. 1560) & LE FILS (1522 env. env. 1594) Après avoir travaillé comme géomètre en 1526 dans sa ville natale de Sens, où il séjourne jusqu’en 1540, et après avoir réalisé des cartons pour les vitraux de la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • COUSIN (V.) — COUSIN VICTOR (1792 1867) Fils d’un ouvrier joaillier, Victor Cousin, après de brillantes études secondaires au lycée Charlemagne, entre, en 1810, à l’École normale supérieure, où il subit l’influence durable de Pierre Laromiguière; celui ci… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • cousin — ► NOUN 1) (also first cousin) a child of one s uncle or aunt. 2) a person of a kindred people or nation. ● first cousin once removed Cf. ↑first cousin once removed ● second cousin Cf. ↑ …   English terms dictionary

  • Cousin — Cous in (k[u^]z n), n. [F. cousin, LL. cosinus, cusinus, contr. from L. consobrinus the child of a mother s sister, cousin; con + sobrinus a cousin by the mother s side, a form derived fr. soror (for sosor) sister. See {Sister}, and cf. {Cozen},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cousin — Sm Vetter std. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. cousin, dieses aus l. cōnsobrīnus ( die Geschwisterkinder zueinander sind ), aus l. sobrīnus Geschwisterkind , einer Ableitung von l. soror f. Schwester . Das Femininum hat sich in der… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Cousin — Cousin: Die Anfang des 17. Jh.s aus dem Frz. übernommene Verwandtschaftsbezeichnung schränkte den Geltungsbereich des ererbten Wortes ↑ Vetter ein. Heute drängt allerdings das Wort »Vetter«, vor allem in der Hochsprache, das Wort »Cousin« wieder… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • cousin — a Consanguineus, quasi Consanguin. Deux cousins germains fils de deux freres, ou de deux soeurs, Fratres patrueles, Sobrini, Consobrini. Cousin germain par nature, ou frere germain d amitié, Frater cognatione patruelis amore germanus. Un cousin,… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

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