# My brother's father-in-law is my what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2007, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096 "2007-11-03T09:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/41 "2007-11-05T13:49:44Z")
Ancient Latin had very precise terms for relationships between family members. Many languages do (although I don’t think any are as specific as the imagined one in Heinlein’s **Citizen of the Galaxy** ). My Latin dictionary has an interesting page showing these terms in a family tree, but I don’t have it here, and haven’t been able to find anything similar in a quick internet search. I’ll bet they had a term ffor what the OP is looking for. Contemporary English is sadly deficient in such terms. We end up labeling a lot of folks “cousins” of various sorts, or “great aunts/uncles”. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/42 "2007-11-05T16:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=aldiboronti] Yes, it’s an old phrase. Here’s OED’s earliest cite for it: [/QUOTE] Thanks! I crave an OED, but can’t quite justify buying it. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/43 "2007-11-05T21:45:49Z")
**Cal** , I think I found what you were looking for - is this it? [Latin Family Relationship Titles](http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/grammar/vocabulary/fam.html) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/44 "2007-11-05T22:03:33Z")
Basically. I think the one I saw went a little farther, and had it all in one diagram, but that’s the basic idea. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/45 "2007-11-05T23:52:49Z")
What I want is a term for what my sons’ in-laws (especially M&FIL) are to me (other than competition). Because I think that’s a relationship unlike others. I’ve been tempted to use Shecky’s out-laws, and not because of any animosity. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096/46 "2007-11-06T04:01:35Z")
My mother referred to such people as “Christmas Card Cousins” as that was the only time of the year they came anywhere near her radar screen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-brothers-father-in-law-is-my-what/425096.md?page=2)