cousinship


cous·in

C0700700 (kŭz′ĭn)n.1. A child of one's aunt or uncle. Also called first cousin.2. A relative descended from a common ancestor, such as a grandparent, by two or more steps in a diverging line.3. A relative by blood or marriage; a kinsman or kinswoman.4. A member of a kindred group or country: our Canadian cousins.5. Something similar in quality or character: "There's no mistaking soca for its distant Jamaican cousin, reggae" (Michael Saunders).6. Used as a form of address by a sovereign in addressing another sovereign or a high-ranking member of the nobility.
[Middle English cosin, a relative, from Old French, from Latin cōnsōbrīnus, cousin : com-, com- + sōbrīnus, cousin on the mother's side; see swesor- in Indo-European roots.]
cous′in·hood′ n.cous′in·ly adj.cous′in·ship′ n.