aunt

== 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 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). === Pronunciation === enPR: änt, IPA(key): /ɑːnt/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): [ɑːnt] (General American) IPA(key): [ɑnt] (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): [äːnt], [ɐːnt] (Atlantic Canada, Tidewater, SAE) IPA(key): [ɒːnt] (New England) IPA(key): [ɑːnt], [aːnt] (African-American Vernacular) IPA(key): [äːnt], [ɑːnt] Rhymes: -ɑːnt Homophone: aren't (some non-rhotic accents) enPR: ănt, IPA(key): /ænt/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): [ænt], [ɛənt], [eənt] (Northern England, Ireland) IPA(key): [ant], [änt], [ænt] Rhymes: -ænt Homophone: ant (Scotland) IPA(key): /ant/, [änt] (New England) enPR: ônt, IPA(key): /ɔnt/ Rhymes: -ɔːnt (African-American Vernacular) enPR: ŭnt, IPA(key): /ʌnt/ Rhymes: -ʌnt (Southern US) enPR: ānt, IPA(key): /eɪnt/ Rhymes: -eɪnt Homophone: ain't === Noun === aunt (plural aunts) The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent. The female cousin or cousin-in-law of one’s parent. (endearing) A woman of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin. (obsolete) Any elderly woman. (obsolete) A procuress or bawd. ==== Usage notes ==== Aunt is capitalized when it is used as a title with a name: Have you written to Aunt Jane? ==== 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 ==== ==== Related terms ==== tante ==== Descendants ==== → Hawaiian: ʻanakē → Irish: aint → Pennsylvania German: Aent → Yoruba: àǹtí ==== 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 == Middle English == === Noun === aunt alternative form of aunte