uncle

nouninterjectionverbtop 1 000 in film dialogue

//ˈʌŋ.kl̩//

The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.

noun

1
The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
2
The male cousin of one’s parent.
3
Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
4
Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
5
figurativeA source of advice, encouragement, or help.
6
datedA pawnbroker.
December 1843, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Grant in Paris" (review), in Fraser's Magazine A chain hangs out of the pocket of his velvet waistcoat , by which we may conclude that he has a watch , though we have known many gents whose watches were at their uncle's (as the fashionable term for the pawnbroker goes)
7
An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
8
archaicAn older African-American male.
Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great ears, — an immense talker.
9
informalAny middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os Latin avunculus Old French unclebor. Middle English uncle English uncle From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.

interjection

1
A cry used to indicate surrender.

verb

1
To address somebody by the term uncle.
2
To act like, or as, an uncle.
Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford

Forms

plural: uncles
past tense: uncled
past participle: uncled
present participle: uncling
third person singular: uncles

uncanny · Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural);…uncertain · Not certain; unsure.uncertainty · Doubt; the condition of being uncertain or without conviction.

uncle · The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.

Uncle · radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter U.unclean · Dirty, soiled or foul.unclear · Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.