Uncle

Uncle
Uncle Un"cle, n. [OE. uncle, OF. oncle, uncle, F. oncle, fr. L. avunculus a maternal uncle, dim. of avus a grandfather; akin to Lith. avynas uncle, Goth. aw? grandmother, Icel. [=a]i great grandfather.] 1. The brother of one's father or mother; also applied to an aunt's husband; -- the correlative of aunt in sex, and of nephew and niece in relationship. [1913 Webster]

2. A pawnbroker. [Slang] --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

3. An eldery man; -- used chiefly as a kindly or familiar appellation, esp. (Southern U. S.) for a worthy old negro; as, ``Uncle Remus.'' [Colloq.]

Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great ears, -- an immense talker. --Emerson. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{My uncle}, a pawnbroker. [Slang]

{Uncle Sam}, a humorous appellation given to the United States Government. See {Uncle Sam}, in Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • uncle — late 13c., from O.Fr. oncle, from L. avunculus mother s brother, lit. little grandfather, dim. of avus grandfather, from PIE root *awo grandfather, adult male relative other than one s father (Cf. Arm. hav grandfather, Lith. avynas maternal uncle …   Etymology dictionary

  • uncle — [uŋ′kəl] n. [OFr < L avunculus, one s mother s brother, dim. of * avo < IE * awos , maternal grandfather > OE eam, OHG oheim, uncle, L avus, grandfather] 1. the brother of one s father or mother 2. the husband of one s aunt 3. [Old… …   English World dictionary

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  • uncle — ► NOUN ▪ the brother of one s father or mother or the husband of one s aunt. ORIGIN Old French oncle, from Latin avunculus maternal uncle …   English terms dictionary

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  • uncle —    Used by a speaker to address the brother of his father or mother, or the husband of an aunt, an uncle in law.    The term is used alone, or followed by the first name of the man concerned, especially if the speaker is a child.    Usage varies… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • uncle — I. n 1. British a pawnbroker. A use of the word which arose in the 18th century, referring (probably ironically) to the mon eylender s avuncular assistance. The term was still heard in London in the 1950s and may survive. From the 1980s it was… …   Contemporary slang

  • uncle — [13] Uncle comes via Anglo Norman uncle and late Latin aunculus from Latin avunculus ‘mother’s brother, maternal uncle’ (source also of English avuncular [19]). This was a diminutive noun derived from the prehistoric base *aw ‘grandparent’, and… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • uncle — [13] Uncle comes via Anglo Norman uncle and late Latin aunculus from Latin avunculus ‘mother’s brother, maternal uncle’ (source also of English avuncular [19]). This was a diminutive noun derived from the prehistoric base *aw ‘grandparent’, and… …   Word origins

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