uncle

uncle
uncleless, adj.uncleship, n.
/ung"keuhl/, n.
1. a brother of one's father or mother.
2. an aunt's husband.
3. a familiar title or term of address for any elderly man.
4. Slang. a pawnbroker.
5. (cap.) Informal. Uncle Sam.
6. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter U.
7. say or cry uncle, Informal. to concede defeat: They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.
[1250-1300; ME < AF uncle, OF oncle < L avunculus mother's brother, equiv. to av(us) mother's father + -unculus suffix extracted from dims. of n-stems (see HOMUNCULUS)]

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  • Uncle — Un cle, n. [OE. uncle, OF. oncle, uncle, F. oncle, fr. L. avunculus a maternal uncle, dim. of avus a grandfather; akin to Lith. avynas uncle, Goth. aw? grandmother, Icel. [=a]i great grandfather.] 1. The brother of one s father or mother; also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • uncle — late 13c., from O.Fr. oncle, from L. avunculus mother s brother, lit. little grandfather, dim. of avus grandfather, from PIE root *awo grandfather, adult male relative other than one s father (Cf. Arm. hav grandfather, Lith. avynas maternal uncle …   Etymology dictionary

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  • uncle — [13] Uncle comes via Anglo Norman uncle and late Latin aunculus from Latin avunculus ‘mother’s brother, maternal uncle’ (source also of English avuncular [19]). This was a diminutive noun derived from the prehistoric base *aw ‘grandparent’, and… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • uncle — [13] Uncle comes via Anglo Norman uncle and late Latin aunculus from Latin avunculus ‘mother’s brother, maternal uncle’ (source also of English avuncular [19]). This was a diminutive noun derived from the prehistoric base *aw ‘grandparent’, and… …   Word origins

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