Home » Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

Discussion Forum (Archived)

Please consider registering
Guest
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Min search length: 3 characters / Max search length: 84 characters
The forums are currently locked and only available for read only access
sp_TopicIcon
in-laws
Larry Kaplan
1
2008/03/03 - 6:11pm

While waiting for a funeral to proceed, I raised the topic with friends that I heard on your show: find a word to identify the children who receive the care of a babysitter. My friends responded with another relationship that needs a word: the relationship between in-laws such as between my parents and my wife's parents. We were unable to recall a word that represents the relationship or that may be used by one set of in-laws to identify the other.

Any help would be appreciated.

Guest
2
2008/03/03 - 7:34pm

Yiddish has just the word: "machatunim" (mah-kha-TUH-nim).

Guest
3
2008/03/07 - 4:28pm

Yes, Yiddish does, but does English?
There aren't too many languages that have a word for “sibling” in the sense of a relative sharing the same parents as someone. English is one of the few.
There may be an old term from Middle English or something that expresses the relation(ship) between (and among) in-laws. But I guess it depends on the point of view of the relation; e.g., a man's Mother calls his wife's mother a “sister-in-law”. Other than the suffix “-in-law” and just the word “in-laws”, I don't know. Anybody?…

Forum Timezone: UTC -7
Show Stats
Administrators:
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Moderators:
Grant Barrett
Top Posters:
Newest Members:
A Conversation with Dr Astein Osei
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 1
Topics: 3647
Posts: 18912

 

Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 618
Members: 1268
Moderators: 1
Admins: 2
Most Users Ever Online: 1147
Currently Online:
Guest(s) 101
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)

Recent posts