# cousin

Pronunciation: say "KUZ-uhn" US /ˈkʌz(ə)n/, UK /ˈkʌzn̩/

## Noun

1. A child of one's aunt or uncle; with second, third, etc., a relative descended from a common ancestor by the same number of generations.
   - Simple: The child of your aunt or uncle. A second or third cousin shares a great-grandparent or older relative with you.
   - _Their fathers are brothers, which makes the two boys cousins._
   - _My cousin grew up next door, since her mother and mine are sisters._
2. Any relative, especially a distant one, who is part of a person's extended family but not a direct ancestor or descendant.
   - Simple: A member of your wider family who is not a parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild.
   - _Distant cousins from three continents gathered for the family reunion._
   - _She discovered a long-lost cousin while researching her family history._
3. A person, people, or thing regarded as closely related to another, through a shared origin or strong likeness.
   - Simple: A person, group, or thing that is like another or comes from the same origin.
   - _Linguists treat Spanish and Italian as cousins, both descended from Latin._
   - _The new tablet is really just a larger cousin of the company's phone._
4. A warm or familiar name used to address someone one feels close to, sometimes placed before a first name as a title.
   - Simple: A friendly name you call someone you feel close to.
   - _Welcome home, Cousin Marcus, we've kept your room ready._
   - _Pull up a chair, cousin, and tell me everything._
5. A form of address used by a monarch to another monarch or a noble; in British royal writs, used to address a viscount or peer of higher rank.
   - Simple: A polite word a king or queen uses to speak to another ruler or a high noble.
   - _"To our well-beloved cousin, the Earl of March, greetings," the royal commission began._
   - _Sealing the alliance, the queen addressed the foreign king simply as cousin._

## Verb

6. To pay a visit to a cousin or other relative. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To go and spend time visiting a relative.
   - _Each Christmas break we went cousining across three counties, sleeping wherever a relative had a spare bed._
   - _In those days, families went cousining every summer, staying a week or two with each set of relatives._
7. To be on close, familiar terms with someone or something. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To be close and friendly with someone, or closely linked with something.
8. To call someone 'cousin', or to treat or claim them as a cousin. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To call someone your cousin or treat them as one.

## Noun

9. A female sexual partner other than a man's wife; specifically, a prostitute. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A woman who was a man's lover outside marriage, or a prostitute.
10. A person who is swindled or deceived; a dupe. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who is tricked or cheated out of money.
11. A man who pursues and seduces many women; a womanizer. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A man who chases and seduces many women.

## Origin

The noun comes from Middle English cosin ("a relative or kinsman"), which came through Anglo-Norman and Old French cosin/cosine from Latin cōnsobrīnus ("maternal cousin; relation"), possibly via a Vulgar Latin form. This was built from con- plus sobrīnus ("maternal cousin"), tracing ultimately back to the Proto-Indo-European word for "sister." The verb is derived from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cousin (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).