# uncle

Pronunciation: US say "UNG-kuhl" /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/; UK

## Noun

1. The brother or brother-in-law of one's parent, or, more loosely, a male cousin of one's parent.
   - Simple: The brother or brother-in-law of your mother or father, or sometimes a male cousin of one of your parents.
   - _Her uncle drove three hours to attend the wedding._
   - _He inherited the family farm from his uncle._
2. A title or form of address for a man who is not a relative, such as a parent's close friend or partner, or an older man treated as family.
   - Simple: What you call a man who is not really your uncle, like a family friend or your parent's partner.
   - _My father's business partner was no relation at all, but he was Uncle Ray to us for as long as I can remember._
   - _"Happy birthday, Uncle!" Priya shouted as Dad's oldest friend walked through the door._
5. A figurative source of advice, encouragement, or help that one can rely on.
   - Simple: A person or thing you can go to for advice, help, or support when you need it.
   - _The veteran reporter was an uncle to every nervous trainee in the newsroom._
   - _During her first lonely year abroad, the retired teacher downstairs became an uncle to her, someone she could always turn to._
4. Any middle-aged or older man who is older than the speaker or listener, used informally. *(colloquial, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore)*
   - Simple: Any older man, used in a friendly way even when you do not know him.
   - _Hey, uncle, can you tell me which platform the train leaves from?_
   - _An uncle at the next table waved the waiter over to settle our argument._

## Interjection

3. A shout used to admit defeat and give up a fight or contest. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: A word you shout to give up or admit you have lost.
   - _Held in a tight headlock, the boy finally gasped, "Uncle!"_
   - _She refused to say uncle even as the others begged her to stop._

## Verb

6. To address someone using the title "uncle." *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To call someone "uncle" when you talk to them.
   - _"Please don't uncle me," he told his sister's friends, "I'm barely older than you."_
   - _"Stop uncling me," he told the teenagers with a laugh. "I'm barely ten years older than you."_
7. To behave like or serve as an uncle. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To behave the way an uncle would, by helping and caring for someone.
   - _With no children of his own, he threw himself into uncling, taking his sister's boys camping every summer._
   - _Every Thanksgiving he gets to uncle, sneaking the kids extra pie and teaching them card tricks._

## Noun

8. An older Black man, in a now-archaic and offensive slang usage once common in the American South. *(archaic, Southern US)*
   - Simple: An older Black man, named with an old, rude word that people no longer use.
9. A pawnbroker, in dated British informal use: the lender to whom goods were pledged for ready cash. *(dated, British)*
   - Simple: A pawnbroker, the person who lends you money in return for items you leave behind.

## Origin

English borrowed 'uncle' from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, going back through Vulgar Latin to Latin avunculus ('maternal uncle', literally 'little grandfather'). This traces to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'grandfather' or an adult male relative other than one's father, and it displaced the native Old English words ēam ('maternal uncle') and fædera ('paternal uncle').

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