If you refer to two things or groups of people as cousins, you mean that they are equivalents or that there is a connection between them.
Whereas West Germans drink wine, their Eastern cousins prefer Schnapps.
The average European kitchen is smaller than its American cousin.
...misanthropy and its cousin racism.
4. See also country cousin
cousin in British English
(ˈkʌzən)
noun
1. Also called: first cousin, cousin-german, full cousin
the child of one's aunt or uncle
2.
a relative who has descended from one of one's common ancestors. A person's second cousin is the child of one of his or her parents' first cousins. A person's third cousin is the child of one of his or her parents' second cousins. A first cousin once removed (or loosely second cousin) is the child of one's first cousin
3.
a member of a group related by race, ancestry, interests, etc
our Australian cousins
4.
a title used by a sovereign when addressing another sovereign or a nobleman
Derived forms
cousinhood (ˈcousinˌhood) or cousinship (ˈcousinˌship)
noun
cousinly (ˈcousinly)
adjective, adverb
Word origin
C13: from Old French cosin, from Latin consōbrīnus cousin, from sōbrīnus cousin on the mother's side; related to soror sister
Cousin in British English
(French kuzɛ̃)
noun
Victor (viktɔr). 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer
cousin in American English
(ˈkʌzən)
noun
1. Obsolete
a collateral relative more distant than a brother or sister, descended from a common ancestor
2.
the son or daughter of one's uncle or aunt
also called first cousin, full cousin, or cousin-german: one's second cousin is a child of one's parent's first cousin; one's first cousin once removed is a child of one's first cousin (or, conversely, a first cousin of one's parent)
3. Loosely
any relative by blood or marriage
4.
a person or thing thought of as somehow related to another
our Mexican cousins
5.
a title of address used by one sovereign to another sovereign or to a nobleman
Derived forms
cousinly (ˈcousinly)
adjective, adverb
cousinship (ˈcousinˌship)
noun
Word origin
ME cosin < OFr < L consobrinus, orig., child of a mother's sister, also cousin, relation < com-, with + sobrinus, cousin on the mother's side < base of soror, sister
Examples of 'cousin' in a sentence
cousin
History is repeating itself; they are the grandchildren of first cousins.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Who were the first cousins?
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
It just kind of came down and picked off certain people here and there... cousins and aunts and uncles and my father very particularly.
The Sun (2016)
I've got 13 cousins and one brother.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But they are something like third cousins.
The Sun (2015)
Myself and my two cousins were in the last coach.
Max Arthur Lost Voices of the Edwardians: 19011910 in the words of the Men & Women Who WereThere (2006)
Leicester and tries are becoming only distant cousins at the moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
You are wearing me out with cousins and aunts!
Travers, P L What the Bee Knows - reflections on myth, symbol and story (1989)
It was the same with my aunt and my cousin.
Carlos Acosta No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's Tale (2007)
He thought it a pretty sight to see the two cousins so busy in their little arrangements about the table.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
She had been forcibly married at the age of ten to a cousin by relatives hoping to secure her fortune for themselves.
Diane Purkiss The English Civil War: A People's History (2006)
Indeed, a sonnet is addressed by this one to a cousin and namesake.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
We were second cousins, not first.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Four first cousins, all named after their grandfather.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Yet in one sense, money is at least a distant cousin to happiness.
Christianity Today (2000)
Everyone was keen to sell except one cousin of mine, who refused outright.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Then there is that second cousin in Belgium.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is possible that he attended a school in the borough of Brent with one of the cousins.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
A distant cousin recently let something slip which gave the game away.
The Sun (2013)
I find this man is a second cousin of his.
George Eliot Middlemarch (1872)
In other languages
cousin
British English: cousin /ˈkʌzn/ NOUN
Your cousin is the child of your uncle or aunt.
My cousin helped me to bring in the bags.
American English: cousin
Arabic: اِبْنُ العَمِّ
Brazilian Portuguese: primo
Chinese: 堂表兄弟姊妹
Croatian: bratić
Czech: bratranec
Danish: kusine
Dutch: neef
European Spanish: primo
Finnish: serkku
French: cousin
German: Cousin
Greek: ξάδελφος
Italian: cugino
Japanese: いとこ
Korean: 사촌
Norwegian: fetter
Polish: kuzyn
European Portuguese: primo
Romanian: văr
Russian: двоюродный брат
Latin American Spanish: primo
Swedish: kusin
Thai: ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง
Turkish: kuzen
Ukrainian: двоюрідний братдвоюрідна сестра
Vietnamese: anh em họ
All related terms of 'cousin'
full cousin
the child of one's aunt or uncle
cater-cousin
a close friend
cousin-german
the child of one's aunt or uncle
cross cousin
a cousin who is the child of one's father's sister or one's mother's brother
first cousin
Someone's first cousin is the same as their → cousin . Compare → second cousin .
second cousin
Your second cousins are the children of your parents' first cousins. Compare → first cousin .
country cousin
If you refer to someone as a country cousin , you think that they are unsophisticated because they come from the country.
kissing cousin
a distant relative known well enough to greet with a friendly kiss
parallel cousin
a cousin who is the child of one's father's brother or one's mother's sister
shirt-tail cousin
a distant cousin
Chinese translation of 'cousin'
cousin
(ˈkʌzn)
n(c)
(older male on father's side) 堂兄 (tángxiōng) (个(個), gè)
(younger male on father's side) 堂弟 (tángdì) (个(個), gè)
(older female on father's side) 堂姐 (tángjiě) (个(個), gè)
(younger female on father's side) 堂妹 (tángmèi) (个(個), gè)
(older male on mother's side) 表兄 (biǎoxiōng) (个(個), gè)
(younger male on mother's side) 表弟 (biǎodì) (个(個), gè)
(older female on mother's side) 表姐 (biǎojiě) (个(個), gè)
(younger female on mother's side) 表妹 (biǎomèi) (个(個), gè)
first cousin嫡堂或表兄弟姐妹 (dí táng huò biǎo xiōngdì jiěmèi)
second cousin远(遠)房堂或表兄弟姐妹 (yuǎnfáng táng huò biǎo xiōngdì jiěmèi)