Uncle

{{Short description|Male relative who is sibling of one's parent}}

{{Other uses}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

File:Uncle and nephew both members of Congress. Uncle and nephew combination in Congress, Rep. Charles A. Eaton of New Jersey, (right) and his nephew Rep. William R. Eaton of Colorado, are both LCCN2016889271 (cropped).jpg (right) and his nephew Rep. William R. Eaton (left).]]

An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. 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 {{langx|la|avunculus}}, the diminutive of avus (grandfather), and is a family relationship within an extended or immediate family.

{{Cite web |last=Straussman |first=Min |date=2021 |title=Piblings & Niblings: Do You Know These Words for Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, & Nephews? |url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/aunt-uncle-niece-nephew-words/ |access-date=26 July 2021 |website=dictionary.com}} A popular colloquial term is Unc.{{cite web|url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2024/10/18/gen-alpha-slang-gen-z-definition-demure-ohio-fanum-tax/75689592007/#:~:text=Unc%2D%20short%20for%20%22uncle.,to%20describe%20an%20older%20person | title=Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang terms defined, from 'boujee' to 'unc' }}

In some cultures and families, children may refer to the cousins of their parents as uncle (or aunt). It is also used as a title of respect for older relatives, neighbours, acquaintances, family friends, and even total strangers in some cultures, for example Aboriginal Australian elders. Using the term in this way is a form of fictive kinship.

Any social institution where a special relationship exists between a man and his sisters' children is known as an avunculate (or avunculism or avuncularism).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0aOAgAAQBAJ&q=Avunculate&pg=PT232|title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology|last1=Barnard|first1=Alan|last2=Spencer|first2=Jonathan|date=4 December 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135236403|language=en}} This relationship can be formal or informal, depending on the society. Early anthropological research focused on the association between the avunculate and matrilineal descent, while later research has expanded to consider the avunculate in general society.

Additional terms

File:Uncles.png

  • A half-uncle is the half-brother of one's parent.
  • A maternal uncle is the brother of one's mother.
  • A paternal uncle is the brother of one's father.
  • An uncle-in-law is the uncle of one's spouse or the husband of an individual's aunt or uncle.
  • A parent's first cousin may be called a second uncle.
  • A great-uncle{{cite web |title=Definition of great-uncle in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/great-uncle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424112704/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/great-uncle |archive-date=24 April 2019 |website=oxforddictionaries.com |access-date=24 April 2019}}{{cite web |title=Google Ngram Viewer of relative versions of name |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%5Bgreat+-+uncle555%5D%2Cgreat+uncle%2C%5Bgrand+-+uncle%5D%2Cgranduncle%2Cgreatuncle%2Cgrand+uncle&case_insensitive=on&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t4%3B%2C%5Bgreat%20-%20uncle%5D%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgreat%20-%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreat%20-%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreat%20-%20Uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cgreat%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgreat%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreat%20Uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bgreat%20Uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreat%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2C%5Bgrand%20-%20uncle%5D%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgrand%20-%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGrand%20-%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cgranduncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgranduncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGranduncle%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cgreatuncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgreatuncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreatuncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGreatUncle%3B%2Cc0%3B.t4%3B%2Cgrand%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bgrand%20uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGrand%20Uncle%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BGrand%20uncle%3B%2Cc0 |website=Google Ngram |access-date=24 April 2019 |via=Google Books}}/granduncle{{Cite CD.com|granduncle|access-date=24 April 2019}}/grand-uncle{{cite web |title=Definition of grand-uncle in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/grand-uncle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424112647/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/grand-uncle |archive-date=24 April 2019 |website=oxforddictionaries.com |access-date=24 April 2019}} is the brother of one's grandparent.

Genetics and consanguinity

Uncles by birth (brother of a parent) are related to their nieces and nephews on average by 25% (1750 centimorgans) though this can vary considerably.{{Cite web|url= https://knowyourdna.com/centimorgan/ |title = Centimorgan Relationship Calculator| date=19 October 2022 }} As half-uncles are related through half brothers, they are related by average 12.5%. Non-consanguineous uncles (male spouse of a relative) are not related by blood.

Cultural variations

=Arabic=

In Arabic, one's mother's brother is called Khal خال and the mother's sister is called Khalah خالة. On the father's side, one's father's brother is called Amm عم and the father's sister is called Ammah عمّة.

=Turkish=

In Turkish, one's mother's brother is called dayi, father's brother is amca, and aunt's husband is known as enişte. One's mother's sister is called "teyze". Father's sister is "hala". Uncle's wife is "yenge".

=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, 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.

=Indigenous Australians =

Many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples address male respected senior members of the community, known as elders, as "uncle" (and women as "aunty") as a mark of seniority and respect, whether related or not,{{cite web |url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/communicating-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-audiences|title =Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences|website =Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia) |date=23 February 2016}} such as Uncle Archie (Roach){{cite web | title=Archie Roach, Aboriginal musician, songwriter and artist, dead at 66 after 'a remarkable life' | website=ABC News |publisher =Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=30 July 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-30/archie-roach-aboriginal-musician-songwriter-and-artist-dead-at-6/101285620 | access-date=16 September 2022}} and Uncle Jack Charles.{{cite web | last=Browning | first=Daniel | title='I called him Uncle': Remembering iconic theatre great Uncle Jack Charles | website=ABC News| publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation| date=14 September 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-14/uncle-jack-charles-aboriginal-artist-indigenous-elder-leader/101437098 | access-date=16 September 2022}}

=South Asian=

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

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

=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

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