Uncle Definition

ŭngkəl
noun
The brother of one's father or mother.
Webster's New World
The husband of one's aunt.
Webster's New World
Any elderly man.
Webster's New World
Used as a form of address for an older man, especially by children.
American Heritage
A kindly counselor.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
other
(brother of someone's father): paternal uncle.
Wiktionary
(brother of someone's mother): maternal uncle.
Wiktionary

(uncle gained by marriage): uncle-in-law.

Wiktionary
interjection
A cry used to indicate surrender.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Uncle

Noun

Singular:
uncle
Plural:
uncles

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Uncle

Origin of Uncle

  • 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

  • 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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