Aunt Meaning
/ɑːnt/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent.
nounThe female cousin or cousin-in-law of one’s parent.
Sentence Examples
What does your aunt do?
My aunt lives in New York.
Had you met her aunt before you married May?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
My mother's sister, my ____, will visit us next weekend.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
My mother's sister is my ____, and she lives in a different city.
Word Origin & History
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).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1923, P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves:
"I saw neither hope of his reclaiming, nor comfort in his being; and was it not then better bestowed upon his uncle than upon one of his aunts?—I need not say bawd, for every one knows what aunt stands for in the last translation."
— c. 1604–1606 (date written; published 1608), Thomas Middleton, “A Trick to Catch the Old One”, in A[rthur] H[enry] Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton […] (The English Dramatists), volume II, London: John C. Nimmo […], published 1885, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, page 267:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
My mother's sister, my ____, will visit us next weekend.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
My mother's sister is my ____, and she lives in a different city.