cousin
Pluralcousins
Pluralcousins
Formscousins, cousining, cousined
- 1The child of your aunt or uncle. A second or third cousin shares a great-grandparent or older relative with you.
Like a brother or sister, but one step further out in the family.
My cousin is my uncle's son, and we grew up together.
She invited all her cousins to the birthday party.
UsageUse cousin for both boys and girls.
Note
- 2A member of your wider family who is not a parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild.
Like a branch of your family tree that grows off to the side, not straight up or down.
Half the people at the reunion were distant cousins I had never met.
He's some kind of distant cousin on my father's side.
UsageUsually a distant cousin: someone in your family, but not close.
Similarrelative, relation, kinsman
Note
- 3
- 4A friendly name you call someone you feel close to.
Like calling a close friend 'brother' even when you are not related.
Good to see you, cousin. It's been too long!
Hey cousin, can you give me a hand with this?
Similarfriend
Note
Less common meanings
- 5A polite word a king or queen uses to speak to another ruler or a high noble.
"Come forward, cousin, and hear our judgment," the king told the duke.
"We greet you, cousin," the queen wrote to the visiting king.
Note
- 6To go and spend time visiting a relative.
Like going to visit family the way you might drop in on friends.
Every July they head south to cousin for a few weeks.
The pretty wren perches now in the Governor's house—a-cousining, a-cousining.
1895, Gilbert Parker, “As Vain as Absalom”Similarvisit
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- 7To be close and friendly with someone, or closely linked with something.
The UK has fiscal arithmetic cousined with that of Greece, but is dealing with it.
2012, David Roche, Bob McKeeHere, cousined means closely linked or very similar.Similarassociate, fraternize, hobnob, mix
Note
- 8To call someone your cousin or treat them as one.
At length she seemed to relent, or changed her tactics, for she looked over his shoulder as he sketched, and Cousined him two or three times as usual.
1857, “A Winter in the South”, in Harper’s New Monthly MagazineHere, cousined means called him cousin.Note
- 9A woman who was a man's lover outside marriage, or a prostitute.
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- 10
- 11A man who chases and seduces many women.
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Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Middle English cosin, meaning a relative, which came through Old French from Latin consobrinus, meaning a cousin on the mother's side. The verb comes from the noun.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Cousin comes from Middle English cosin, which meant a relative. en.wiktionary.org
- The Middle English word came through Old French from Latin consobrinus. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin consobrinus meant a cousin on the mother's side. en.wiktionary.org
- The verb cousin derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org