cousin

The word “cousin” means the child of one's aunt or uncle. In plain terms, a relative — usually the child of your aunt or uncle, though the word can stretch to cover more distant family.

“Cousin” is pronounced KUHZN (/ˈkʌz(ə)n/ in IPA).

Here is “cousin” used in a sentence: “My cousin flew in from Toronto for the wedding.”

“Cousin” is a noun.

The word “cousin” comes from Latin. From Old French cosin, ultimately from Latin cōnsobrīnus, meaning a cousin on the mother's side — from con- ("together") plus sobrīnus ("maternal relative").

“Cousin” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Cousin” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the child of one's aunt or uncle.

First cousins share a set of grandparents — they are the children of siblings. Second cousins are more distant: they share great-grandparents, being the children of two first cousins. Each further step back the shared ancestor sits adds a number, so third cousins share great-great-grandparents.

'Removed' marks a difference in generation. Your first cousin once removed is your first cousin's child, or your parent's first cousin — one generation apart from you. 'Twice removed' means two generations apart. The word 'removed' describes the generational gap, while the number describes how far back the shared ancestor is.

First cousins share roughly 12.5 percent of their DNA on average, because they descend from the same pair of grandparents. That makes them fairly close blood relatives — closer than second cousins but more distant than siblings, who share about half their DNA, or aunts and uncles.

Cousins are usually counted as extended family rather than immediate family. Immediate family typically means parents, siblings, and children — the closest household relations. Cousins, along with aunts, uncles, and grandparents, form the wider network of relatives around that core, even when the bond between them is very close.