ENGLISH
REFERENCE

kin

n. · v. · adj.
US //ˈkɪn// UK //kˈɪn// kin
  1. 1 family and relatives (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Formal

    your family and the people you are related to by blood.

    one's family or relations collectively; often used in legal or formal contexts regarding inheritance or notification.

    Example

    The hospital staff asked for the name of her next of kin in case of an emergency.

    Example

    Under the current inheritance laws, the estate passes directly to the deceased's nearest kin if no valid will is found.
    • strangers
  2. 2 a character you identify with (n.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal

    a fictional character or person that you feel is exactly like you.

    a character or persona with whom an individual identifies deeply or spiritually, often within online fandom communities.

    Example

    That grumpy cat in the cartoon is definitely my kin.

    Example

    In many online spaces, users list their kins in their profiles to help others understand their personality and aesthetic preferences.
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  1. 3 to identify with a character (v.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal

    to feel a very strong connection to a character or to feel that you are like them.

    to identify strongly with a fictional character or real person, often to the point of seeing them as a reflection of one's own identity.

    Example

    I kin the main character of this book because we both love quiet libraries.

    Example

    The trend of kinning characters has become a significant way for younger audiences to explore their own identities through media.
  2. 4 related or similar (adj.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary

    related to someone or very similar to something else.

    related by blood or having a similar nature or character; often used in the phrase 'kin to'.

    Example

    The two languages are kin to each other and share many of the same words.

    Example

    His artistic style was kin to the Impressionists, though he worked nearly a century after the movement had peaked.
Etymology 1

From Middle English kyn, from Old English cynn (“kind, sort, rank”), from Proto-West Germanic kuni, from Proto-Germanic kunją (“race, generation, descent”), from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥h₁yom, from ǵenh₁- (“to produce”). Cognate with Scots kin (“relatives, kinfolk”), North Frisian kinn, kenn (“gender, race, family, kinship”), Dutch kunne (“gender, sex”), Middle Low German kunne (“gender, sex, race, family, lineage”), Danish køn (“gender, sex”), Swedish kön (“gender, sex”), Icelandic kyn (“gender”), Finnish kunnia (“honour, glory”), Ingrian kunnia (“reputation”), and through Indo-European, with Latin genus (“kind, sort, ancestry, birth”), Ancient Greek γένος (génos, “kind, race”), Sanskrit जनस् (jánas, “kind, race”), Albanian dhen (“(herd of) small cattle”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Mandarin 琴 (qín), from a non-palatal dialect akin to Peking; or less likely, from Japanese 琴 (kin).

Etymology 3

Clipping of fictionkin.

Word family

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