Aunt
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An aunt is a
The male counterpart of an aunt is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece. The gender-neutral term pibling, a shortened form of parent's sibling, may refer to either an aunt or an uncle.[1]
Types
- A half-aunt is a half-sister of a parent.
- A great-aunt[2][3] or grandaunt[4] (sometimes written grand-aunt[5]) is the sister of one's grandparent.
Genetics and consanguinity
Aunts by birth (sister of a parent) are related to their nieces and nephews by 25%. As half-aunts are related through half-sisters, they are related by 12.5% to their nieces and nephews. Non-consanguineous aunts (female spouse of a relative) are not genetically related to their nieces and nephews.
Cultural variations
In some cultures, such as
In several cultures, no single inclusive term describing both a person's kinship to their parental female sibling or parental female in-law exists. Instead, there are specific terms describing a person's kinship to their mother's female sibling, and a person's kinship to their father's female sibling, per the following table:[citation needed]
Language | Mother's sister | Father's sister |
---|---|---|
Albanian | teze | hallë |
Kurdish | Xaltîk (IPA: xɑːltiːk) | Metik (IPA: mɛtɪk) |
Arabic | خالة (khālah) | عمّة (ʿammah) |
Bengali | খালা (khala) | ফুফু (phuphu) |
Hindi | Mausi | Bua |
Korean | 이모 (Imo) | 고모 (Gomo) |
Marathi | Mavashi | Aatya |
Persian | (خاله)khaleh | (عمّه)ammeh |
Polish | ciotka (diminutive: ciocia) | stryjna (diminutive: stryjenka) |
Swedish | moster | faster |
Turkish | teyze | hala |
In popular culture
Aunts in popular culture have not always been portrayed as positive roles. Childless aunts are often subjected to
Aunt Flo is a popular euphemism referring to the menstrual cycle.
An agony aunt is a colloquial term for a female advice columnist.
Fictional aunts include:
- Aunt Agatha and Aunt Dahlia, both aunts to Bertie Wooster in the Jeeves stories of P. G. Wodehouse: Aunt Agatha is haughty and fearsome, while Aunt Dahlia is more genial.
- May Parker, the aunt of Spider-Man.
- Eunice, the abusive aunt of Joker.
- Auntie Mame, title character in the novel and film.
- Petunia Dursley, the aunt of the protagonist of Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
- Vivian Banks, the aunt of the main character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
- Aunt Sally, a character in the Worzel Gummidge books and TV series.
- Auntie Em, the aunt of film.
- Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge, the villainous aunts of James Trotter in James and the Giant Peach.
- Diane, the tomboyish aunt of Daniel in Chicago Party Aunt.
- Karasu and Washi, the twin aunts of Kubo from Kubo And The 2 Strings.
See also
- All pages with titles beginning with Aunt – includes many articles with titles "Aunt [name]."
- Auntie (disambiguation) (also includes "Aunty")
References
- ^ Straussman, Min (2021). "Piblings & Niblings: Do You Know These Words For Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, & Nephews?". dictionary.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Definition of great-aunt in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Google Ngram Viewer of relative versions of name". Google Ngram. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Grandaunt definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Definition of grand-aunt in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). 23 February 2016.
- ^ Browning, Daniel (14 September 2022). "'I called him Uncle': Remembering iconic theatre great Uncle Jack Charles". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Mills, Aunty Kathy. "You belong to my heart". Spun: True Stories Told in the Territory. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Jones, Anna. "'Aunt with no kids': The women redefining family roles". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
External links
- The dictionary definition of aunt at Wiktionary
- The dictionary definition of grandaunt at Wiktionary
- The dictionary definition of great-aunt at Wiktionary