Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cousin

/ˈkʌz(ə)n/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.41 in modern English

Syllables
cou-sin
IPA
/ˈkʌz(ə)n/
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a kinsman or kinswoman.

noun

Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a kinsman or kinswoman.

noun

Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a kinsman or kinswoman.

noun

A person of an ethnicity or nationality regarded as closely related to someone of another ethnicity or nationality.

noun

Used as a term of address for someone whom one is close to; also, (preceding a first name, sometimes capitalized as Cousin) a title for such a person.

noun

Used by a monarch to address another monarch, or a noble; specifically (UK) in commissions and writs by the Crown: used in this way to address a viscount or another peer of higher rank.

noun

Something kindred or related to something else; a relative.

noun

A female sexual partner who is not a person's wife; specifically, a prostitute.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English cosin, cosine, cosyn (“blood relative, kinsman or kinswoman; any relative; nephew or niece; first cousin; grandson or granddaughter; descendant; godchild or godparent, or a relative of a godchild or godparent; (figurative) closely related or similar thing”) [and other forms], and then: * from Anglo-Norman cosen, cosin [and other forms], Middle French cosin, and Old French cosin (“collateral male relative more distant than one’s brother; form of address used by a monarch to male monarchs or nobles”) [and other forms] (modern French cousin); and * from Anglo-Norman cosine, Middle French cosine, and Old French cosine (“collateral female relative more distant than one’s sister; form of address used by a monarch to female monarchs or nobles”) [and other forms] (modern French cousine), from Latin cōnsobrīnus (“maternal cousin; first cousin; relation”) (possibly through Vulgar Latin *cōsuīnus, from *cōsobīnus), from con- (prefix denoting a bringing together of several objects) + sobrīnus (“maternal cousin; sister’s son; any nephew”) (from a noun use of Proto-Italic *swezrīnos (“of or belonging to a sister”, adjective) (with the first syllable influenced by Latin soror (“sister”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr (“sister”), possibly from *swé (“self”) + *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”) (that is, a woman of one’s own blood) or *-sōr (feminine suffix)). The verb is derived from the noun.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkʌz(ə)n/
  • British English: /ˈkʌzn̩/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cousins (plural) cousins (present, singular) cousining (participle, present) cousined (participle, past) cousined (past) Couzen (alternative) Couzens (alternative) Cozen (alternative) Cozens (alternative) Cozin (alternative) Cozins (alternative) Cossin (alternative)

Derived Forms

cous coz cuz cousinal cousincest cousinfucker cousinfucking cousinhood cousinize cousinless cousinlike cousinliness

Phrases

autistics and cousins cater-cousin country cousin cousin humper Cousin John cousin prime everybody and his cousin everybody and their cousin

Frequently Paired Words

once removed thrice removed twice removed

Synonyms

chump chumpion cousin cull cully dupe dotterel easy mark fall guy fish gudgeon gull

Homonyms

cozen (weak vowel merger)

Rhymes With

dozen

Questions

How do you pronounce cousin?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkʌz(ə)n/.
What does cousin mean?
Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a kinsman or kinswoman.
Where does cousin come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce cousin

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cousin”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkʌz(ə)n/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cousin”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cousin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.