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uncle

 - 5 dictionary results

un⋅cle

  [uhng-kuhl]
Use uncle in a Sentence
–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.
—Idiom
7. say or cry uncle, Informal. to concede defeat: They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF uncle, OF oncle < L avunculus mother's brother, equiv. to av(us) mother's father + -unculus suffix extracted from dims. 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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To uncle
un·cle   (ŭng'kəl)   
n.  

    1. The brother of one's mother or father.

    2. The husband of one's aunt.

  2. Used as a form of address for an older man, especially by children.

  3. A kindly counselor.

  4. Slang A pawnbroker.

  5. Uncle Uncle Sam.


[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin avunculus, maternal uncle; see awo- in Indo-European roots.]
un'cle·less adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
Uncle (Sam)

and Uncle Sugar
  1. n.
    the personification of the U.S. : Uncle Sugar wants a little more of your money this year.
  2. n.
    a federal agent; federal agents. : Uncle has some pretty strong ideas about who's in charge of this investigation.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

uncle 
c.1290, 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 Fr. 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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

uncle

see cry uncle; Dutch uncle.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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