Cousinships

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The family ties and kinship bonds that exist between cousins ; the collective body of a set of cousins considered as a group
2. Relationships of kinship shared among cousins ; the gatherings or networks formed by a number of cousins taken together
3. The state of being cousins to one another ; a collection of cousins regarded as a unit within a wider family

Etymology: "Cousinships" is the plural of "cousinship", a noun formed by adding the suffix "-ship" to "cousin". The suffix is an old English element, related to "shape" and meaning a state, condition or quality, as in "friendship" or "kingship". So "cousinship" denotes the relationship of being cousins, and the plural refers to several such relationships, such as the various bonds of kinship that link one family's members to another's. "Cousin" itself came into English from Old French "cosin", from Latin "consobrinus", a word for a cousin on the mother's side, which is why the term carries the sense of a shared bloodline without specifying which generation or branch. Taken together, the parts describe a state of being related through a common ancestor.

Synonyms: kinship, relationship