We can speak generically of children, parents, cousins, siblings, etc.
Is there, in any language, a non-gender spcific word like these to describe the relationship of a sibling to a sibling’s children?
There’s a word (in German, I think) for nieces and nephews: nefling (I’m not sure of the spelling). I don’t know of a similar word for aunts/uncles.
I’ve always liked the vaguely southern term “relations”.
In English we can say it in phrases like “sibling’s children” and “parent’s sibling”
nieces and nephews: niblings! Like siblings, but with an n!
My brother made up that word, but I like it. I’ll have to ask him if he s come up with an aunt/uncle one. Possibly unnt?
In the law, any relative who isn’t an ancestor or a descendant is a “collateral relation.”
In Mississippi, they fall under the all-encompasing term “kinfolks”.
I myself, living in a non-traditional family, found it difficult to clarify what I should call my aunt and uncle, who raised me. “Parents” wasn’t right, so I finally settled on “folks”.
Extended family.
They’re your second-degree relatives (first degree would be your parents, children and siblings).
But that would also include grandparents.
How about siblings-once-removed?
I knew I asked the right people.
“niblings” … I like it.
'cause that legal term “collateral relations” just seems a little too, I don’t know, military
- and I can see telling friends, “Yeah, I’m taking care of my younger second degree relatives for the weekend while my sister goes out of town.”
Yup. I like niblings. Thanks Nametag
What is wrong with neice/nephew or Uncle/Aunt? Is this a PC thing to you or do you just have difficulties telling the difference between males and females?
Would you rather your parents introduce you as their offspring TVGuy or their son TVGUY. The first sounds a little cold to me.
Another vote for “extended family”. That’s always what I’ve referred to those people as, since they’re more or less one step removed from my “immediate family”, right?
Perhaps the OP simply dislikes the verbosity involved in saying these are my nieces and nephews when referring to his niblings.
we always used the term neicephews and auncles
In Spanish the terms are gender specific, unless you use them in the plural.
Sobrino means nephew, and sobrina is niece. But if you say los sobrinos, it refers to all of your siblings’ children regardless of their gender.
The same thing with tio and tia, which in singular mean uncle and aunt, but in plural mean all of your parents’ siblings.
Utterly thrilled that I can use my new found knowlege of Spanish – I’ve only been studying it for a month
Would you still use sobrinos if all your sibling’s children were female?
If I’m remembering my spanish right, las sabrinas would mean “the nieces” whereas los sobrinos could mean either “the nephews” or “the nieces and nephews”.