UNCLE
What does "UNCLE" mean?
The brother of one's father or mother, or the husband of one's aunt.
Meanings
- A parent's brother, or the husband of a parent's sibling. My uncle taught me to fish every summer at the lake.
- An unrelated older man treated as a kindly family figure. We called the old shopkeeper Uncle out of affection. informal
- A cry meaning 'I give up', used to admit defeat (chiefly North American). He twisted my arm until I shouted uncle. informal
Did you know?
- Latin distinguished its uncles: 'avunculus' meant specifically the mother's brother, and it is that word - not a general term - that survives in English as 'avuncular'.
Word origin
From Old French 'oncle', from Latin 'avunculus' meaning 'mother's brother', a diminutive of 'avus' (grandfather); the same Latin root gives us 'avuncular'.
Remember it
UNCLE comes from Latin 'avunculus', mother's brother - the same root as 'avuncular', the word for kindly and uncle-like.
A little poem
Not quite a father, never far-
the man who shows you how things work
then lets you keep the slightly broken car.
tercet
Wordplay
- I asked the arm-wrestling champion who taught him; he said his uncle - then made me say it too.
What it teaches
Some of the best teaching comes from people one step removed from raising you.
Quick facts
What does UNCLE mean?
The brother of one's father or mother, or the husband of one's aunt.
Is UNCLE a valid word?
Yes — UNCLE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is UNCLE?
UNCLE has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does UNCLE come from?
From Old French 'oncle', from Latin 'avunculus' meaning 'mother's brother', a diminutive of 'avus' (grandfather); the same Latin root gives us 'avuncular'.
What can UNCLE teach us?
Some of the best teaching comes from people one step removed from raising you.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.