uncle

English Online Dictionary. What means uncle‎? What does uncle mean?

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ŭngʹkəl, IPA^(key): /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/
• Rhymes: -ʌŋkəl

Noun

uncle (plural uncles)

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, informal, dated) A pawnbroker.
   • December 1843, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Grant in Paris" (review), in Fraser's Magazine

     A chain hangs out of the pocket of his velvet waistcoat , by which we may conclude that he has a watch , though we have known many gents whose watches were at their uncle's (as the fashionable term for the pawnbroker goes)

7. (especially in the Southern US, parts of UK and South Asia) 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, slang, archaic) An older African-American male.
9. (Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

Synonyms

• (dialectal, Scotland) eam, eme
• (archaic or dialectal) nuncle
• (India, as a respectful term of address) uncleji
• (familiar or endearing) uncley, unclie, uncly

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "with regard to gender"): aunt
• (antonym(s) of "with regard to ancestry"): niece, nephew
• (antonym(s) of "African-American"): boy
• (antonym(s) of "India"): aunty

Hypernyms

• (sibling of someone's parent) auncle, pibling (both nonstandard)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Translations

See also: related paternal uncle and maternal uncle for more translations.

Interjection

uncle

1. A cry used to indicate surrender.

Derived terms

• cry uncle
• say uncle

Verb

uncle (third-person singular simple present uncles, present participle uncling, simple past and past participle uncled)

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

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “uncle”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “uncle”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Clune

Middle English

Alternative forms

• hunckyl, oncle, oncyll, ownkyll, uncul, uncull, unkele, unkle, unkyll

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈunklə/, /ˈunkəl/

Noun

uncle (plural uncles or (rare) unclen)

1. uncle (brother of one's parents)

   Synonym: em

Descendants

• English: uncle (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: uncle

References

• “uncle, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old French

Noun

uncle oblique singular, m (oblique plural uncles, nominative singular uncles, nominative plural uncle)

1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of oncle

Scots

Alternative forms

• unkl, uncill, uncul, unkle, unckle, unkill, unckill, unkel, unkell, unckell, unkyll, unkll, unqil, unqill, wncle, wnkill, wnckill, wnkyll, wnkle, wnckle, wnckell, wankall

Etymology

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”)).

Noun

uncle (plural uncles)

1. uncle

References

• “uncle” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.