uncle
Part of speech: noun
intj
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os
Latin avunculus
Old French unclebor.
Middle English uncle
English uncle
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.
Inflected forms:
form: uncles
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: uncles
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: uncling
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: uncled
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: uncled
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: The male cousin of one’s parent.
pos: noun
gloss: Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
pos: noun
tags: endearing
gloss: Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
pos: noun
tags: euphemistic
gloss: A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
gloss: A pawnbroker.
pos: noun
tags: UK
dated
informal
examples: 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 pawnbroker goes)
gloss: An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
pos: noun
tags: especially
gloss: An older African-American male.
pos: noun
tags: Southern-US
archaic
slang
examples: Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great ears, — an immense talker.
gloss: Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.
pos: noun
tags: Brunei
Malaysia
Myanmar
Singapore
informal
gloss: A cry used to indicate surrender.
pos: intj
tags: US
colloquial
gloss: To address somebody by the term uncle.
pos: verb
tags: colloquial
transitive
gloss: To act like, or as, an uncle.
pos: verb
tags: colloquial
intransitive
examples: Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford
Synonyms: eam
eme
nuncle
uncley
unclie
uncly
Antonyms: aunt
niece
nephew
boy
aunty
Related words: avuncular
uncular
avunculate
avunculicide
avunculism
avunculocal
Derived words: agony uncle
auncle
Bob is your uncle
Bob's your uncle
Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt
bruncle
co-uncle
cousin-uncle
cry ~
holler ~
double uncle
Dutch uncle
everybody and his uncle
everybody and their uncle
everyone and his uncle
everyone and their uncle
funcle
granduncle
great-granduncle
great-uncle
guncle
half-uncle
if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle
if my uncle had tits, he'd be my aunt
I'll be a monkey's uncle
maternal half-uncle
maternal uncle
my sainted uncle
nuncle
paternal half-uncle
paternal uncle
Robert is your uncle
Robert's your uncle
second uncle
step-uncle
taxi uncle
unc
unclecide
uncledom
Uncle Festerman
unclefucker
unclehood
uncle-in-law
Uncle Joe
uncleless
unclely
Uncle Ned
uncle or aunt
Uncle Sam
Uncle Scrooge
uncleship
Uncle Shmuel
Uncle Sugar
Uncle Tom
Uncle Tomahawk
Uncle Whiskers
uncley
unclie
uncly
unclish
say uncle
Translations: