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aunt

Pronunciation: /ɑːnt/

The English word “aunt” has 5 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent.
  2. The female cousin or cousin-in-law of one’s parent.
  3. A woman of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
  4. Any elderly woman.
  5. A procuress or bawd.

Etymology

From Middle English aunte, from Anglo-Norman aunte, from Old French ante, from Latin amita (“father's sister”). Displaced native Middle English modrie (“aunt”) (from Old English mōdriġe (“maternal aunt”); compare Old English faþu, faþe (“paternal aunt”)). Notes on pronunciation and spelling The digraph ⟨au⟩ representing /æ ~ ɑː/ (rather than /ɔː/) is irregular. It likely reflects a development of…

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