Definition of avunculate in English:
avunculate
noun əˈvʌŋkjʊlətəˈvəNGkyəlit
the avunculateAnthropology The special relationship in some societies between a man and his sister's son.
kinship relations such as the avunculate
Example sentencesExamples
- The Fante also cited the latter proverb to indicate certain limitations placed on the avunculate.
- Commentary from 1861 to the present is examined in order to establish that the avunculate does indeed reflect matrilineal kinship structure, which in turn suggests that a full-scale totemic kinship system prevailed in prehistoric Germania.
- However, some questions were still unanswered, since the avunculate is not associated always with either matrilineal or patrilineal systems.
- He is currently refining one paper on Anglo-Saxon queenship and another on the avunculate in Beowulf, the latter invited for Philological Quarterly.
- Since every schoolboy since Radcliffe-Brown knows the importance of the avunculate in African society, I simply counted my blessings, figuring that I must actually be ‘doing’ anthropology.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Latin avunculus 'maternal uncle' + -ate2.