Kinred

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Describing a group of individuals connected by blood or familial ties ; relating to persons sharing a common ancestry or hereditary descent ; pertaining to people united through family relationships
2. Referring to those who are connected through lineage or genetic links ; indicating membership within a family group or clan ; encompassing relatives and those who share a common bloodline
3. Characterizing a network of family members or kindred spirits ; denoting people who are linked by birth or family bonds ; relating to individuals descended from a common ancestor

Etymology: "Kinred" is an obsolete spelling of "kindred," and the word's history is a neat record of how English built its family vocabulary. Its core is "kin," which goes back to Old English "cynn," meaning kind, lineage or family stock. Attached to it is "-red," from Old English "-rǣden," a suffix meaning condition or state, the same ending seen in "hatred" and "wretched" in its older sense of a state of being. Together, the pieces described a state of belonging to one lineage. The "d" in "kindred" is not part of the original structure. Early English inserted it between the "n" and the "r," a process that also gave us "spindle," so the older spelling "kinred" reflects the form before that extra consonant settled in. Middle English wrote "kyndrede" and earlier "kynrede," showing the sound change at work.

Synonyms: kindred, related, akin, connected

Antonyms: unrelated, different, alien