Aunt, auntie, and aunty also may be titles bestowed by parents and children to close friends of one or both parents who assume a sustained caring or nurturing role for the children.[1] Children in some cultures and families may refer to thecousins of their parents as aunt or uncle due to the age and generation gap. The word comes fromLatin:amita viaOld Frenchante and is afamily relationship within an extended or immediate family.
The male counterpart of an aunt is anuncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of anephew or niece. The gender-neutral termpibling, a shortened form ofparent's sibling, may refer to either an aunt or an uncle.[2]
Aunts by birth (sister of a parent) arerelated to their nieces and nephews by 25%. As half-aunts are related through half-sisters, they are related by 12.5% to their nieces and nephews. Non-consanguineous aunts (female spouse of a relative) are not genetically related to their nieces and nephews.
In some cultures, such asAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, respected senior members of the community, often also referred to asElders, are addressed as "uncle" (for men) and "aunt" for women, as a mark of seniority and respect, whether related or not,[8][9] such asAunty Kathy Mills.[10]
In several cultures, no single inclusive term describing both a person'skinship to their parental female sibling or parental female in-law exists. Instead, there are specific terms describing a person's kinship to their mother's female sibling, and a person's kinship to their father's female sibling, per the following table:[citation needed]
Aunts in popular culture have not always been portrayed as positive roles. Childless aunts are often subjected toothering in popular culture and presented as exotic or as having a second-best role, withmotherhood preferred.[11]
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