Anuncle is usually defined as a malerelative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who arerelated by birth aresecond-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal relationship is that of anephew or niece. The word comes fromLatin:avunculus, the diminutive ofavus (grandfather), and is a family relationship within an extended or immediate family.^[1] A more slang usage isUnc.^[2]

In some cultures and families, children may refer to the cousins of their parents as uncle (or aunt). It is also used as atitle of respect for older relatives, neighbours, acquaintances, family friends, and even total strangers in some cultures, for exampleAboriginal Australian elders. Using the term in this way is a form offictive kinship.

Any social institution where a special relationship exists between a man and his sisters' children is known as anavunculate (or avunculism or avuncularism).^[3] This relationship can be formal or informal, depending on the society. Early anthropological research focused on the association between the avunculate andmatrilineal descent, while later research has expanded to consider the avunculate in general society.

• Ahalf-uncle is thehalf-brother of one's parent.
• Amaternal uncle is the brother of one's mother.
• Apaternal uncle is the brother of one's father.
• Anuncle-in-law is the uncle of one's spouse or the husband of an individual's aunt or uncle.
• A parent's first cousin may be called asecond uncle.
• Agreat-uncle^[4][5]/granduncle^[6]/grand-uncle^[7] is the brother of one's grandparent.

Uncles by birth (brother of a parent) arerelated to their nieces and nephews on average by 25% (1750centimorgans) though this can vary considerably.^[8] As half-uncles are related through half brothers, they are related by average 12.5%. Non-consanguineous uncles (male spouse of a relative) are not related by blood.

In Arabic, one's mother's brother is calledKhal خال and the mother's sister is calledKhalah خالة. On the father's side, one's father's brother is calledAmm عم and the father's sister is calledAmmah عمّة.

In Turkish, one's mother's brother is calleddayi, father's brother isamca, and aunt's husband is known asenişte. One's mother's sister is called "teyze". Father's sister is "hala". Uncle's wife is "yenge".

In some cultures, like Albanian, Slavic, or Persian, no single inclusive term describing both a person'skinship to their parental male sibling or parental male in-law exists. Instead, there are specific terms describing a person's kinship to their mother's brother (dajë inAlbanian,daiyee inPersian,wuj (diminutive:wujek) inPolish) or a person's kinship to their father's brother (xhajë in Albanian,amou in Persian,stryj (diminutive:stryjek) inPolish). An analogous differentiation exists using separate terms to describe a person's kinship to their mother's female sibling (teze in Albanian,khaleh in Persian,ciotka (diminutive:ciocia) inPolish), and a person's kinship to their father's female sibling, (hallë in Albanian,ammeh in Persian,stryjna (diminutive:stryjenka) inPolish).

Furthermore, in Persian culture the terms used to describe a person's kinship to their maternal or paternal in-laws bear clear and unambiguous descriptions of that relationship, differentiating the parental in-laws from blood-relatives. For example, there is a specific term describing a person's kinship to the spouse of their paternal uncle (i.e.zan-amou, literally 'wife-of-'amou). This clarifies that kinship is to the spouse of the person's paternal male sibling, as opposed to a blood-relationship.

Many AustralianAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples address male respected senior members of the community, known aselders, as "uncle" (and women as "aunty") as a mark of seniority and respect, whether related or not,^[9] such asUncle Archie (Roach)^[10] andUncle Jack Charles.^[11]

In India, unambiguous names are used for various uncles such as one's father's brother chacha (or kaka). If the brother of one's father is older than one's father then he is called Tauji (or taya or bapuji). One's mother's brother is called Mama. A paternal aunt's husband is called Fufa (or Fuva) and a maternal aunt's husband is called Mausa (or Masa) in Hindi (or Gujarati).

Likewise, in neighbouringBangladesh (and Pakistan), mother's brother is also Mama (or Mamu) as well father's brother as Chacha. A paternal aunt's husband is Phupha and maternal aunt's husband is Khalu.

Due to the loving image of an old but wise and friendly uncle in many cultures the word has been used as a loving nickname for many people. InTibetan mythologyAkhu Tönpa (Uncle Tompa) is a familiar and well-beloved figure. The American national personificationUncle Sam serves as an allegorical fatherly figure to many Americans. Various children's TV hosts have useduncle as their nickname, includingWalt Disney (Uncle Walt), Bob Davidse (Nonkel Bob, literallyUncle Bob), Edwin Rutten (who hosted a children's show namedDe Show van Ome Willem [The Show of Uncle Willem]). The Dutch poet Ome Ko also useduncle as part of his pseudonym.

Rich, wise or otherwise eccentric uncles are also popular in works of fiction.

• Nonkel Fillemon inUrbanus.
• Nonkel Vital inDe Kiekeboes.
• Ome Arie, character inSjors en Sjimmie.
• Oncle Paul, the title character in a Belgian comics series.
• Ben Parker,a.k.a.Uncle Ben, the uncle ofSpider-Man.
• Scrooge McDuck, a.k.a.Uncle Scrooge from theDonald Duck comics.
• Uncle Choi by Hui Guan-man.
• Uncle Phil inMickey Finn.^[12]

• Uncle Oswald byRoald Dahl.
• Uncle Remus byJoel Chandler Harris.
• Uncle Tom byHarriet Beecher Stowe.
• Uncle Vanya byAnton Chekhov.
• Uncle Wiggily byHoward R. Garis.
• Vernon Dursley a.k.a. "Uncle Vernon" The uncle by marriage of the protagonist ofHarry Potter byJ. K. Rowling

• Uncle Buck, played byJohn Candy in the 1989 eponymous film.
• Uncle Fucker, character and song inSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

• Benjen Stark, in the television seriesGame of Thrones, referred to as "Uncle Benjen" by his nephewJon Snow.
• Corrado "Junior" Soprano, in the television seriesThe Sopranos, referred to as "Uncle June" by his nephewTony Soprano.
• Jesse Katsopolis, in the television seriesFull House andFuller House, referred to as "Uncle Jesse" by his three nieces DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle Tanner.
• Philip Banks, a.k.aUncle Phil, the uncle-in-law of the titular character inThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• Charles O'Casey, also known as "Uncle Charley", a character inMy Three Sons.
• Uncle Deadly, a character inThe Muppet Show.
• Uncle Fester, the uncle ofWednesday andPugsley Addams inThe Addams Family.
• Uncle Grandpa, a character in the eponymous TV series.
• Uncle Iroh, a character inAvatar: The Last Airbender, always referred to as "Uncle" by his nephewZuko
• Uncle Leo, Jerry's maternal uncle inSeinfeld.
• Uncle Jack, title character in a BBC children's TV series.
• Uncle Max, a character in the eponymous TV series.
• Uncle Ruckus, a character in the television seriesThe Boondocks. No relation.
• Grunkle Stan, a character in the television seriesGravity Falls. The great-uncle of the main characters.
• Uncle Arthur, a character inBewitched.
• Emperor Cloyd and Becky the Enchantress characters ofDisenchantment, siblings of Dagmar, maternal uncles of Bean and grandsons to the late Queen Mariabeanie.

• Uncle Arthur, mascot of aGuinness stout.
• Uncle Ben, mascot of a rice brand.

• Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, a 1971 song byPaul andLinda McCartney from the albumRam.

• Bob's your uncle
• Say Uncle

•   The dictionary definition ofuncle at Wiktionary
•   The dictionary definition ofgreat-uncle at Wiktionary
•   The dictionary definition ofgranduncle at Wiktionary