kin

[ kin ]
See synonyms for: kinkinerkinest on Thesaurus.com

noun(used with a plural verb)
  1. a person's relatives collectively; kinfolk.

  2. family relationship or kinship.

  1. a group of persons descended from a common ancestor or constituting a people, clan, tribe, or family.

  2. a relative or kinsman.

  3. someone or something of the same or similar kind: philosophy and its kin, theology.

adjective
  1. of the same family; related; akin.

  2. of the same kind or nature; having affinity.

Idioms about kin

  1. of kin, of the same family; related; akin: Although their surnames are identical they are not of kin.

Origin of kin

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cyn; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German kunni, Old Norse kyn, Gothic kuni; akin to Latin genus, Greek génos,Sanskrit jánas; see gender1.

Other words from kin

  • kinless, adjective

Words that may be confused with kin

Other definitions for -kin (2 of 2)

-kin

  1. a diminutive suffix of nouns: lambkin.

Origin of -kin

2
Middle English <Middle Dutch, Middle Low German -ken; cognate with German -chen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kin in a sentence

  • I don't want ter see ennybody put upon, nor noways sufferin', ef so be's I kin help; but thet ain't ennythin' stronary, ez I know.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • Probably he was some kin to old Granny Harris, who had distant connections in the North, some one suggested.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • He poked his head in at an open door, and called, amiably, "kin anybody tell me where to find Mr. Castle?"

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
  • We kin git the papers to start a holler and have folks demandin' action of their representatives, and sich like.

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
  • You can't go enterin' my house and removin' things without my permission, I kin tell you.

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland

British Dictionary definitions for kin (1 of 2)

kin

/ (kɪn) /


noun
  1. a person's relatives collectively; kindred

  2. a class or group with similar characteristics

adjective
  1. (postpositive) related by blood

  2. a less common word for akin

Origin of kin

1
Old English cyn; related to Old Norse kyn family, Old High German kind child, Latin genus kind

British Dictionary definitions for -kin (2 of 2)

-kin

suffix forming nouns
  1. small: lambkin

Origin of -kin

2
from Middle Dutch, of West Germanic origin; compare German -chen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with kin

kin

see kith and kin.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.