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Definition 2024


maternal_uncle

maternal uncle

English

Noun

maternal uncle (plural maternal uncles)

  1. The brother or brother-in-law of one’s mother.
    • 1963, Claude Lévy-Strauss, Structural Anthropology, New York: Basic Books, page 42:
      The social organization of the Trobriand Islanders of Melane-
      sia is characterized by matrilineal descent, free and familiar rela-
      tions between father and son, and a marked antagonism between
      maternal uncle and nephew.31 On the other hand, the patrilineal
      Cherkess of the Caucasus place the hostility between father and
      son, while the maternal uncle assists his nephew and gives him a
      horse when he marries.32

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