Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sibling

/ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English

Syllables: sib-ling
IPA: /ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who shares a parent; one's brother or sister who one shares a parent with.

noun

A node in a data structure that shares its parent with another node.

noun

The most closely related species, or one of several most closely related species when none can be determined to be more closely related.

Example Sentences

"None of my siblings are married yet."
"She also had one sibling, her younger brother Joshua, who was born a year after her."
"D. simulans, D. mauritiana and D. sechellia (which we will call “the siblings” when we do not need to distinguish among them) have homosequential polytene chromosome banding patterns differing from those of D. melanogaster by one long inversion on chromosome arm 3R and a few much smaller inversions."
"Bush suggested that this difference might represent a case of chromosomal polymorphism or, more likely, sibling species."

Etymology

First use appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a citation in 1902 in which sibling must be defined for those who do not know the intended meaning.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: sib

Inflected Forms

siblings (plural)

Derived Forms

biosibling dibling intersibling multisibling nephling nibling niefling nonsibling pibling pseudosibling sibcest siblicide

Phrases

adoptive sibling blood sibling co-sibling cross-sibling foster sibling full-sibling god-sibling half-sibling

Synonyms

sib

Rhymes With

dribbling nibbling scribbling quibbling nibling pibling

Questions

How do you pronounce sibling?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/.
What does sibling mean?: A person who shares a parent; one's brother or sister who one shares a parent with.
Where does sibling come from?: First use appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a citation in 1902 in which sibling must be defined for those who do not know the intended meaning.

How to pronounce sibling

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sibling”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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