nuncle

English

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nuncle

Where it comes from

From rebracketing of phrases an uncle, mine uncle, thine uncle, etc. Compare neam and naunt, as well as French mononcle.

For the verb, OED suggests an evolution in sense "to claim to be one's uncle" > "to cheat". It compares this derivation with cozen, which it derives from cousin.

For the technical anthropological sense, compare nibling.

noun nuncles

archaic, dialectal Uncle. Fool: Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a yeoman?
in the study of kinship terminology Aunt or uncle; sibling of a parent (regardless of gender).

verb nuncles · nuncling · nuncled

England, regional To cheat, deceive.

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MLA

"nuncle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nuncle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nuncle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nuncle

Chicago

"nuncle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nuncle.

BibTeX

@misc{nuncle_2026,
  title = {nuncle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nuncle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}