Uncle

An uncle is a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece. The word comes from Latin: avunculus the diminutive of avus "grandfather" and is a family relationship within an extended or immediate family. In some cultures and families, children may refer to the cousins of their parents as aunt or uncle due to the age difference. It is also a title of respect for elders (for example older cousins, neighbours, acquaintances, close family friends, and even sometimes total strangers). Using the term in this way is a form of fictive kinship.

For other uses, see Uncle (disambiguation).

Additional terms
Uncles by Generation
  • A half-uncle is the half-brother of one's parent.
  • Uncle-in-law can refer to the husband of one's aunt or uncle or the uncle of one's spouse. When referring to the husband of one's aunt the term uncle is usually used.
  • A great-uncle[1][2]/granduncle[3]/grand-uncle[4] is the brother of one's grandparent.

Genetics and Consanguinity

Uncles by birth (brother of a parent) are related to their nieces and nephews by 25%. As half-uncles are related through half brothers, they are related by 12.5%. Non consanguineous uncles (male spouse of a relative) are not related by blood.

Cultural variations

Albanian, Slavic and Persian

In some cultures, like Albanian, Slavic, or Persian, no single inclusive term describing both a person's kinship to their parental male sibling or parental male in-law exists. Instead, there are specific terms describing a person's kinship to their mother's brother ("dajë" in Albanian language, "daiyee" in Persian, "wuj" (diminutive: "wujek") in Polish) or a person's kinship to their father's brother ("xhajë" in Albanian, "amou" in Persian, "stryj" (diminutive: "stryjek") in Polish). An analogous differentiation exists using separate terms to describe a person's kinship to their mother's female sibling, ("teze" in Albanian, "khaleh" in Persian, "ciotka" (diminutive: "ciocia") in Polish), and a person's kinship to their father's female sibling, ("hallë" in Albanian, "ammeh" in Persian, "stryjna" (diminutive: "stryjenka") in Polish).

Furthermore, in Persian culture the terms used to describe a person's kinship to their maternal or paternal in-laws bear clear and unambiguous descriptions of that relationship, differentiating the parental in-laws from blood-relatives. For example, there is a specific term describing a person's kinship to the spouse of their paternal uncle (i.e. "zan-amou", literally 'wife-of-' amou). This clarifies that kinship is to the spouse of the person's paternal male sibling, as opposed to a blood-relationship.

Irish

Uncles and aunts are considered important in modern Irish culture and are usually chosen to be godfather or godmother of children during Catholic baptism. A young Irish person might seek the counsel of their favorite aunt or uncle before making an important decision, and the opinion of the respective aunt or uncle is treated seriously.

South Asian

In India, unambiguous names are used for various uncles such as father's brother chacha (or kaka). If the brother of your father is elder than your father then he is called Tauji ( or bapuji). Your mother's brother is called Mama. Your paternal aunt's husband is called Fufa (or Fuva) and your maternal aunt's husband is called Mausa (or Masa) in Hindi (or Gujarati).

Likewise, in neighbouring Bangladesh, mother's brother is also Mama as well father's brother as Chacha. A paternal aunt's husband is Phupha and maternal aunt's husband is Khalu.

Due to the loving image of an old but wise and friendly uncle in many cultures the word has been used as a loving nickname for many people. In Tibetan mythology Akhu Tönpa (Uncle Tompa) is a familiar and well-beloved figure. The American national personification Uncle Sam serves as an allegorical fatherly figure to many Americans. Various children's TV hosts have used uncle as their nickname, including Walt Disney (Uncle Walt), Bob Davidse (Nonkel Bob, literally Uncle Bob), Edwin Rutten (who hosted a children's show named De Show van Ome Willem (The Show of Uncle Willem). The Dutch poet Ome Ko also used uncle as part of his pseudonym.

Rich, wise or otherwise eccentric uncles are also popular in works of fiction.

Fictional uncles in comics

Fictional uncles in novels

Fictional uncles in films

Fictional uncles in TV series

Fictional uncles in advertising

Fictional uncles in music

See also

References
  1. "Definition of great-uncle in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. "Google Ngram Viewer of relative versions of name". Google Ngram. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. "granduncle". CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  4. "Definition of grand-uncle in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. "Lank Leonard". lambiek.net.
  • The dictionary definition of uncle at Wiktionary
  • The dictionary definition of great-uncle at Wiktionary
  • The dictionary definition of granduncle at Wiktionary
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