uncle English · revision 5113

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1290|origins=la avunculus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈʌŋ.kəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|uncle]], [[bor|xno|uncle]] and Old French oncle,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Late Latin aunculus, from Latin [[m|la|avunculus|t=mother's brother]],^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) literally “little grandfather”, a diminutive of avus “grandfather”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*h₂éwh₂os|alt=*awo-|t=grandfather, adult male relative other than one's father]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Latin had patruus for a father's brother.^(Etymonline) It replaced Old English ēam, mostly “mother's brother”, the Germanic form of the same root, which survives in Dutch oom.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[avuncular]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The brother of one's father or mother: about 1290 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is found as a surname from the late 12th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a title before a name it is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) From the late 16th century, ''an uncle'' was sometimes taken as ''a nuncle'', and Shakespeare's Fool calls Lear “nuncle”.^(Cresswell 2021) The slang sense “pawnbroker” is by 1756.^(Etymonline) As a familiar form of address to an older man it is by 1793.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Dutch uncle'' is from 1838,^(OED 1989) and ''Uncle Sam'', for the United States government, from the early 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In BBC radio, ''uncle'' was a male announcer of children's programmes from 1923,^(OED 1989) and a mother's male friend or lover from 1962.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1290 – a parent's brother.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – as a title.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1756 – a pawnbroker.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1793 – a form of address to an older man.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1838 – ''Dutch uncle''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The brother of one's mother or father.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The husband of one's [[aunt]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A form of address for an older man, especially by children.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' A pawnbroker.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[uncleless]]

+ * [[uncleship]]

+ * [[granduncle]]

+ * [[great-granduncle]]

+ * [[great-uncle]]

+ * [[nuncle]]

+ * [[unc]]

+ * [[Dutch uncle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[avuncular]]

+ * [[avunculate]]

+ * [[aunt]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}