Verwandter

Verwandter is a German noun meaning a relative. It denotes a person connected to someone else by blood or by marriage. The masculine singular form is der Verwandte, the feminine singular die Verwandte, and the plural die Verwandten (used for groups of relatives of any gender).

In everyday language, Verwandte can refer to close family members as well as distant kin. Common compounds include Blutsverwandte (blood relatives) and Verwandte durch Heirat (relatives by marriage). The phrase verwandt sein mit expresses kinship, as in “Ich bin mit meinem Cousin verwandt.” The term also appears in the broader context of family life and legal or genealogical discussions.

Verwandtschaft is the abstract noun for kinship or consanguinity, and Verwandtschaftsgrad denotes the degree of kinship (first degree, second degree, etc.). Related terms include Vetter or Cousin (male cousin) and Cousine (female cousin), as well as regional variants such as Base or Vetterin in some dialects. The everyday distinction between blood relatives (Blutsverwandte) and relatives by marriage is common in German usage.

Etymology: Verwandter derives from an older Germanic term for kin and has been part of German since antiquity, appearing in Middle High German as verwant and evolving into the modern Verwandter and Verwandtschaft. It is cognate with related terms in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch verwant. The word is a standard part of German vocabulary for describing family connections.