uncle

Meaning

1. The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
2. The male cousin of one’s parent.
3. Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
4. Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
5. A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
6. (informal) A pawnbroker.
7. 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. (slang) An older African-American male.
9. (informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

mother’s brother

father

👨‍👦

aunt

father’s younger brother

father’s brother

father’s elder brother

cousin

old man

father’s sister’s husband

mother's brother

chief official

male cousin

parent’s younger brother

eldest brother

nuncle

one’s father’s sister-in-law

nunky

elder

earl

great-uncle

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʌŋ.kl̩/

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.