uncle
English · Thesaurus
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uncle¹
- /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/
Rhymes with -ʌŋkəl
Where it comes from
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.
noun uncles
- The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent. And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
- The male cousin of one’s parent.
- Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
- Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
- A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
- 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 pa
-
An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
Similar: uncleji
- An older African-American male. Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great ears, — an immense talker.
- Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.
Similar: eam, eme, nuncle, uncley, unclie, uncly · Opposite: aunt, niece, nephew, boy, aunty
interjection
- A cry used to indicate surrender.
verb uncles · uncling · uncled
- To address somebody by the term uncle.
- To act like, or as, an uncle. Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford
Uncle²
noun
-
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter U.
Similar: Uniform
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: grandpa, dad, cousin, aunt, unc, mister, man, old, priest, mercy, zio, pak, bag, elizabeth, abe, oncle
Translations
Every language
noun brother (or brother-in-law) of someone’s parent
| Español | tío |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 아저씨 ajeossi, 삼촌 samchon |
| 日本語 | 伯父 oji, 伯父貴 ojiki, 叔父, 叔父貴 ojiki |
| 中文 | 伯父 bófù, 伯伯 bóbo, 叔父 shúfù, 叔叔 shúshu, 姑父 gūfù, 姑丈 gūzhàng |
| हिन्दी | चाचा cācā, ताऊ tāū, मामा māmā, काका kākā, अंकल aṅkal |
| Português | tio |
| Français | oncle, tonton |
| Deutsch | Onkel |
| Italiano | zio |
| Ελληνικά | θείος theíos |
| Română | unchi |
| Русский | дя́дя djádja, дя́дька djádʹka, дя́дюшка djádjuška |
| العربية | عَمّ ʕamm, خَال ḵāl, زَوْجُ العَمّة zawju l-ʕamma, زَوْجُ الخالة zawju l-ḵāla |
| עברית | דּוֹד dod |
noun UK informal: pawnbroker — see also pawnbroker
| Русский | ростовщи́к rostovščík |
|---|
Talk about this word "uncle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/uncle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. uncle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/uncle "uncle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/uncle.Cite this
@misc{uncle_2026,
title = {uncle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/uncle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
