uncle

Meaning

Noun

1. The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
2. The male cousin of one’s parent.
3. (endearing) Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
4. (euphemistic) Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
5. (figuratively) A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
6. (British, dated, informal) A pawnbroker.
7. (especially) An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
8. (Southern-US, archaic, slang) An older African-American male.
9. (Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

Intj

A cry used to indicate surrender.

Verb

1. (colloquial, transitive) To address somebody by the term uncle.
2. (colloquial, intransitive) To act like, or as, an uncle.

Synonyms

mother’s brother

father

👨‍👦

aunt

father’s younger brother

father’s brother

maternal uncle

father-in-law

paternal uncle

maternal

sir

father’s elder brother

cousin

old man

father’s sister’s husband

mother

👩‍🍼

nephew

Sir

do-gooder

count

🔢

mother's brother

unky

niece

chief official

owner

parent

paternal

brother-in-law

pawnbroker

pops

brother

👨‍👦

stepfather

benefactress

benefactor

Mr

Mr.

unc

male cousin

parent’s younger brother

eldest brother

nuncle

one’s father’s sister-in-law

nunky

elder

earl

great-uncle

Translations

oncle

zio

tío

Onkel

oom

tio

θείος

oncle

Oheim

patruus

tonton

nonkel

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʌŋ.kl̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: uncle

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Unkel

Cognate with Dutch: nonkel

Cognate with German: Onkel

Cognate with Danish: onkel

In summary

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os
Latin avunculus
Old French unclebor.
Middle English uncle
English uncle
From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.

Sentences

Did you see Uncle Jake with any cash last night ?