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sibling

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/

The English word “sibling” has 3 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A person who shares a parent; one's brother or sister who one shares a parent with.
  2. A node in a data structure that shares its parent with another node.
  3. The most closely related species, or one of several most closely related species when none can be determined to be more closely related.

Etymology

First use appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the…

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