uncle
Use Uncle in a sentence
kəl noun
1.
a brother of one's father or mother.
2.
an aunt's husband.
3.
a familiar title or term of address for any elderly man.
4.
Slang. a pawnbroker.
5.
( initial capital letter ) Informal. Uncle Sam.
6.
a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter U.
7.
say/cry uncle, Informal. to concede defeat: They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.
00:10
Uncle
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French uncle, Old French oncle < Latin avunculus mother's brother, equivalent to av(us) mother's father + -unculus suffix extracted from diminutives of n-stems (see homunculus)
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French uncle, Old French oncle < Latin avunculus mother's brother, equivalent to av(us) mother's father + -unculus suffix extracted from diminutives of n-stems (see homunculus)
Related forms
un·cle·less, adjective
un·cle·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To uncle
Collins
World English Dictionary
uncle (ˈʌŋkəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a brother of one's father or mother |
| 2. | the husband of one's aunt |
| 3. | a term of address sometimes used by children for a male friend of their parents |
| 4. | slang a pawnbroker |
| Related: avuncular | |
| [C13: from Old French oncle, from Latin avunculus; related to Latin avus grandfather] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
uncle
late 13c., from O.Fr. oncle, from L. avunculus "mother's brother," lit. "little grandfather," dim. of avus "grandfather," from PIE root *awo- "grandfather, adult male relative other than one's father" (cf. Arm. hav "grandfather," Lith. avynas "maternal uncle," O.C.S. uji "uncle," Welsh ewythr "uncle").
Replaced O.E. eam (usually maternal; paternal uncle was fædera), which represents the Gmc. form of the root (cf. Du. oom, O.H.G. oheim "maternal uncle," Ger. Ohm "uncle"). Also from French are Ger., Dan., Swed. onkel. First record of Dutch uncle (and his blunt, stern, benevolent advice) is from 1838; Welsh uncle (1747) was the first cousin of one's parent. To say uncle as a sign of submission in a fight is N.Amer., attested from 1918, of uncertain signification.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
Uncle (Sam) definitionand Uncle Sugar
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Eight years ago, an uncle offered him an apprenticeship at his computer repair shop.
Her boyfriend and her uncle, she said, had made her take a drug the other night.
His parents died of cancer, both in the same year, leaving his uncle to raise the family.
My uncle had become still more unbending from domestic sufferings.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
