aunt
- 01 A1 Beginner
the sister of your father or mother.
the female sibling of one's parent.
Simple“My aunt Sarah is my mother's younger sister and lives in London.”
In context“After the funeral, my aunt shared stories about growing up with my father that I had never heard before.”
Antonyms - 02 A1 Beginner
the wife of your uncle.
the wife of one's parent's sibling.
Simple“My uncle Joe and his wife, my aunt Maria, are visiting us.”
In context“Although she is technically my aunt by marriage, she has been a central figure in our family for decades.”
Antonyms - 03 B1 Intermediate
a woman who is a close friend of your parents, even if she is not a relative.
a term of affection or respect for a woman of an older generation, typically a close friend of the family.
Simple“Even though we aren't related, I always call my mom's best friend Aunt Linda.”
In context“In many cultures, it is customary to address any close female friend of the parents as 'Aunt' as a sign of respect and intimacy.”
UsageOften used as a title before a first name.
Teacher's tipThis is a common example of 'fictive kinship' where family terms are used for non-relatives to show closeness.
From Middle English aunte, from Anglo-Norman aunte, from Old French ante, from Latin amita (“father's sister”). Displaced native Middle English modrie (“aunt”) (from Old English mōdriġe (“maternal aunt”); compare Old English faþu, faþe (“paternal aunt”)). The digraph ⟨au⟩ representing /æ ~ ɑː/ instead of the expected /ɔː/ is irregular, and has not been conclusively explained (compare launch, which contains /ɑː/ in some UK dialects).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.