# Word That Means 'Uncle-Or-Aunt'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891 "2021-11-24T19:07:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/1 "2021-11-24T19:07:13Z")
My Uncle Carl was born in 1929. And it’s really kind of sad. He is one of the last of his generation in my family. He also is my last uncle or aunt. It kind of reminds me of 1993. That is when my last great uncle or aunt died. And she was the last of her generation. (She could remember the Roaring Twenties. I’m serious.) Yeah, my cousins tell me every time they see their father, he is slowing down more and more. Very sad, as I said. But on a slightly lighter note, it does bring up a good question. Is there an English word (only _one_, mind you) that literally means ‘Uncle-Or-Aunt’? I know the Esperanto word is _geonklo_. (Esperanto is an artificial language for proposed international communication, in case you don’t know 🙂 .) So yes, by all means, include other languages, if you wish. Thank you in advance for all your helpful replies 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/2 "2021-11-24T19:09:45Z")
_pibling_ [Piblings & Niblings: Do You Know These Words For Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, & Nephews? | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/e/aunt-uncle-niece-nephew-words/#:~:text=Gender%2Dneutral%20and%20nonbinary%20terms%20for%20aunt%20and%20uncle&text=That%20said%2C%20one%20term%20that,with%20the%20P%20from%20parent). ## **Gender-neutral and nonbinary terms for aunt and uncle** _When it comes to referring to a mixed group of aunts and uncles (like we can do with parents or siblings when referring to those relatives), the language is far from settled. That said, one term that has become increasingly popular is pibling . Pibling can refer to either an aunt or an uncle and is modeled on [sibling](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sibling), blended with the P from parent . For example:_ \*\* My _piblings_ Alex, Jo, and Alice took me to the baseball game last week.\* _Pibling can also be used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary term to refer to the sibling of a parent regardless of their gender identity. There are also other gender-neutral or nonbinary terms for aunt and uncle that some people use or have proposed, including:_ \*\* _titi_ : modeled on terms for aunt and uncle in Spanish ( _tía_ and [_tío_](https://www.lexico.com/es-en/traducir/tio))\* \*\* _zizi_ : modeled on terms for aunt and uncle in Italian ( _zia_ and _zio_ )\* \*\* _bibi_ : modeled on _titi_ and _zizi_ , with the _[B](https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/b/)_ from _nonbinary_ (which is often abbreviated as _nb_ )\* \*\* _nini_ : similarly modeled on _titi_ and _zizi_ , with the _N_ from _nonbinary_\* ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/3 "2021-11-24T20:07:04Z")
Related term: Nibling, referring to either a niece or nephew ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/4 "2021-11-24T20:27:36Z")
That’s a real word? I thought my sister made that up 🤦‍♀️ I suppose you’re going to tell me she didn’t invent “kittlings” either. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/5 "2021-11-24T20:31:53Z")
“Nibling” was coined by linguist [Samuel Martin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Martin_(linguist)) in 1951. No mention about him and “pibling” though. Psibling makes more sense to me: Parental Sibling ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/6 "2021-11-24T21:26:19Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Psibling makes more sense to me: Parental Sibling Logical. yes. But too many people will presume that the “p” is silent, and then - as a spoken word - it will just cause another level of confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/7 "2021-11-24T21:28:41Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > But too many people will presume that the “p” is silent, and then - as a spoken word - it will just cause another level of confusion. What, are some people still using that old fashioned ‘talking’ to communicate? How retro! But yes, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/8 "2021-11-25T04:16:20Z")
I’ve read (right here on this Board, IIRC) that different cultures have different ideas about what kinds of relations need to have words of their own. I have an idea in my head that @Siam_Sam has discussed this w.r.t. Thai culture. If that is correct, mayne he can chime in here? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/9 "2021-11-25T06:16:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’ve read (right here on this Board, IIRC) that different cultures have different ideas about what kinds of relations need to have words of their own. True: Hindi, for example, [uses different terms for father’s siblings and mother’s siblings, and also for parental siblings as opposed to parental siblings’ spouses](https://omniglot.com/language/kinship/hindi.htm). All those words would generally be just “aunt” or “uncle” in English, with maybe a few nitpickers differentiating between a biological-relative aunt, for example, and an aunt-in-law or biological uncle’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/10 "2021-11-25T06:25:06Z")
Wouldn’t your aunt or uncle be “first cousin once removed”? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/11 "2021-11-25T06:28:32Z")
" > [@DrDeth](#): > > \*\* _titi_ : modeled on terms for aunt and uncle in Spanish ( _tía_ and [_tío_](https://www.lexico.com/es-en/traducir/tio))\* > \*\* _zizi_ : modeled on terms for aunt and uncle in Italian ( _zia_ and _zio_ )\* > \*\* _bibi_ : modeled on _titi_ and _zizi_ , with the _[B](https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/b/)_ from _nonbinary_ (which is often abbreviated as _nb_ )\* > \*\* _nini_ : similarly modeled on _titi_ and _zizi_ , with the _N_ from _nonbinary_ \* “Zizi” in French is a baby word for penis, so that’s out. “Titi” needs no further comment. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/12 "2021-11-25T06:48:37Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Wouldn’t your aunt or uncle be “first cousin once removed”? No, that require first of all that you have two people who are first cousins, and one of them has a child. Then that child and the cousin of the child’s parent are first cousins once removed. The terminology is odd. Note that the relationship is asymmetrical, yet the phrase “first cousin once removed” seems to be used to describe each of them w.r.t the other. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/13 "2021-11-25T18:05:11Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’ve read (right here on this Board, IIRC) that different cultures have different ideas about what kinds of relations need to have words of their own. I have an idea in my head that @Siam_Sam has discussed this w.r.t. Thai culture. If that is correct, mayne he can chime in here? In Thai, I had thought the terms for aunt, uncle, cousin etc were the same regardless of which side we’re talking about, mother’s side or father’s. But the wife tells me that for aunt and uncle, the same term is used for the elder siblings of both father and mother. But … the younger siblings of Dad and the younger siblings of Mom have different terms. I can empathize with the OP. My last blood aunt/uncle died a few years ago at the ripe old age of 97, about two months before he would have reached 98. Active until his last year or so, he was still playing a full round of golf even after a quadruple heart bypass at 91. I have two aunts by marriage left – his wife, plus another one I have not seen since my paternal grandmother’s funeral in 1966, although I still send her a card every Christmas. That one’s husband was my father’s brother, and he died in a plane crash on Christmas Eve 1964. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/14 "2021-11-25T21:45:29Z")
The other day I was wondering about the feminine equivalent to “avuncular” and almost asked here before realizing I should look it up first, and learned it is “materteral” a word which I don’t recall having come across previously. So thanks to the OP for prompting my research. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/15 "2021-11-26T04:57:18Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > The other day I was wondering about the feminine equivalent to “avuncular” and almost asked here before realizing I should look it up first, and learned it is “materteral” a word which I don’t recall having come across previously. > > So thanks to the OP for prompting my research. Ignorance fought. The female equivalent is _Avanti!_ > [@Senegoid](#): > > No, that require first of all that you have two people who are first cousins, and one of them has a child. Then that child and the cousin of the child’s parent are first cousins once removed. > > The terminology is odd. Note that the relationship is asymmetrical, yet the phrase “first cousin once removed” seems to be used to describe each of them w.r.t the other. Your “Xth cousin Y removed” is the nearest cousin relationship (Xth) where both would be the same generation, then it’s ambiguous whether you go up or down Y steps? So your aunt or your uncle, and your first cousin’s child, would both be first cousin once removed? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/16 "2021-11-26T07:29:46Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > So your aunt or your uncle, and your first cousin’s child, would both be first cousin once removed? I’m not seeing where an aunt or uncle (or a niece or nephew) would be a “first cousin once removed”, unless you define siblings to be a special case of first cousins. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/17 "2021-11-26T07:48:18Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > The female equivalent is _Avanti!_ And when she’s on her high horse about something, she’s “tantamount”. (I’ll fetch me coat). ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/18 "2021-11-26T10:50:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > unless you define siblings to be a special case of first cousins. Such a definition never occurred to me before, but siblings **do** have the same grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/19 "2021-11-26T14:37:42Z")
> I’m twice removed from Oscar Wilde > But he didn’t mind, why he just smiled. > ~Don McLean, [“Everybody Loves Me, Baby.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4cjBUeHHgU) My first cousin’s son is my first cousin once removed. Can we turn that around and instead of “removed” to indicate the child of, use “added” to indicate the parent of. My uncle is my first cousin once added…so is my aunt. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891/20 "2021-11-26T14:46:36Z")
Note that there was no English term for “brother or sister” until the 1920s. It’s not surprising that there is nothing for"aunt or uncle." [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-that-means-uncle-or-aunt/954891.md?page=2)