Consanguinity

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kɒnsaŋˈɡwɪnɪti/

Definitions

1. The condition of being connected through blood relations involves genetic ties that link individuals with a common ancestor in their family tree
2. A relationship that arises from sharing genetic material through ancestry, forming bonds based on familial lineage
3. The quality or state of sharing a common ancestor, establishing kinship through inherited bloodlines

Etymology: Consanguinity is one of those English words whose parts are still visible if you know a little Latin: "com-" meaning "together" and "sanguis," meaning "blood." Put together, "consanguineus" described people of the same blood, and the Latin noun "consanguinitas" named the state of being such relatives. The term passed into Middle English in its "consanguinite" and "consanguinyte" spellings, reaching English through Old and Middle French forms of the same Latin word. The Latin adjective itself is built from "sanguineus," "of or pertaining to blood," which comes from "sanguis." The English word "sanguine," which now means cheerful or optimistic, descends from the same root through the older medical idea that a person's temperament was governed by the blood. Consanguinity keeps the literal sense most closely, meaning kinship understood as a shared bloodline.

Synonyms: kinship, blood relationship, relatedness, affinity, connection

Antonyms: disconnection, estrangement, alienation, separation, divergence