When you show up to the family barbecue, you know how to identify most of the people there: “mom,” “dad,” “brother,” “sister,” “aunt,” “uncle.” But there are so many other words to describe some of your closest family relations. Chances are, you might have a few niblings, or maybe an avunculus or two. This list of interesting familial terms is sure to come in handy at the next family reunion.
Nibling
As a gender-neutral term for your sibling’s child, “nibling” is a good substitute for “niece” or “nephew.” It can be used as an efficient way of saying “my nieces and nephews” — instead, simply say, “my niblings.” The term, which likely originated in the 1950s, does not yet appear in most major dictionaries, but Merriam-Webster has acknowledged it as an up-and-coming term. In a similar fashion, the term “pibling” is beginning to catch on as a gender-neutral substitute for “aunt” or “uncle.”
Brother-german and Sister-german
A brother-german or sister-german is a sibling through the same mother and father, as opposed to a half-sibling (only sharing one parent). The word “german” has nothing to do with Germany — it comes from the Middle English word “germain,” meaning to have the same parents.
Cousins: First, Second, Third, and Once Removed
Referring to your cousins can get confusing, especially if you have a large family tree. Your first cousin is the child of your aunt and uncle; they are in the same generation as you. Your "first cousin once removed" is the cousin of your parents; they are one generation ahead of you. The “once removed” and “twice removed” identifiers refer to how many generations apart you are from each other. This means that the offspring of your "first cousin once removed" is your second cousin because they are of the same generation as you. Their offspring (the generation after you) is your “second cousin once removed,” and if they have offspring, they would be your “second cousin twice removed.”
Spread even broader on the family tree are third and fourth cousins. You share a great-great-grandparent with your third cousins. They are of the same generation as you, and their offspring is your “third cousin once removed.” Fourth cousins share a third great-grandparent, and so on.
Double Cousins
The majority of families won’t have this, but it does happen. A “double cousin” happens when two siblings of one family marry two siblings of another. For example, a set of brothers from one family marries a set of sisters from another. Their offspring are considered “double cousins” because they are double-related. They also share 25% of their DNA, twice as much as regular cousins.
Bonus Parents
This modern term is taking the place of “stepparent” in casual conversation. A “bonus parent” is not genetically related to the child, but, by having a relationship with one of the child’s parents, this person is a “bonus” parent. Some family organizations note the negative connotations with stepmother or stepfather as a reason to change the word to “bonus.” The term “bonus family” is also being used more often to describe what is commonly called a “stepfamily.”
Mater and Pater
“Mater” and “pater” are British English informal versions of “mother” and “father.” These terms have origins in the Latin words mater and pater, from which “maternal” and “paternal” came. Similarly, “matrikin” and “patrikin” are commonly words used in law and literature to refer to relatives on the maternal or paternal sides, using the Latin prefixes matr- and patr-. The suffix -kin stems from Old English which, in the simplest sense, means family.
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