different between aunt vs aunthood

English

Etymology

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 m?dri?e (“maternal aunt”); compare Old English faþu, faþe (“paternal aunt”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, New England, AAVE, some other US areas) enPR: änt, IPA^(key): /?(?)nt/

  Rhymes: -??nt

  Homophone: aren't (in some non-rhotic accents)

• (Northern England, Canada, General American) enPR: ?nt, IPA^(key): /ænt/ (in the US, this is the most common pronunciation in all regions except New England and Virginia)

  Rhymes: -ænt

  Homophone: ant

• (Southern Hiberno-English) IPA^(key): /æ?nt/ (not homophonous with "ant")
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ant/
• (Canada, Maritimes) IPA^(key): /?nt/

  Rhymes: -?nt

• (New England) enPR: ônt, IPA^(key): /?nt/

  Rhymes: -??nt

• (Southern American English, occasionally) IPA^(key): /e?nt/

  Homophone: ain't

Noun

aunt (plural aunts)

1. The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent.
   • 1923, P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves:

     As a rule, you see, I'm not lugged into Family Rows. On the occasions when Aunt is calling to Aunt like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps and Uncle James's letter about Cousin Mabel's peculiar behaviour is being shot round the family circle... the clan has a tendency to ignore me.

2. (endearing) The female cousin of one’s parent.
3. (endearing) A woman of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
4. (obsolete) Any elderly woman.
5. (obsolete) A procuress or bawd.

Synonyms

• auntie, aunty (diminutive)
• auntyji (India, as a respectful term of address)
• naunt (nonstandard, proscribed, dated)

Antonyms

• (with regard to gender) uncle
• (with regard to ancestry) niece, nephew

Hypernyms

• (sibling of someone's parent) auncle, pibling (nonstandard)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Irish: aint

Translations

Several languages distinguish between blood aunts (one’s parent’s sister) and in-law aunts (one’s parent’s sister-in-law), some distinguish between paternal and maternal aunts, and some distinguish between one’s parent’s older siblings and younger siblings.

See also

• materteral

References

Further reading

• aunt on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• -naut, Tuna, naut., tuan, tuna

English

Etymology

aunt +? -hood

Noun

aunthood (uncountable)

1. The quality or state of being an aunt.
   • 1933, Punch

     Nothing has ever been written about the sacredness of aunthood. No one has painted a tender study of an aunt amusing the children on a wet afternoon...

Synonyms

• auntdom
• auntness