consobrinus

Consobrinus is a Latin noun meaning “cousin,” specifically a male cousin—the child of one’s aunt or uncle. The feminine form is consobrina. In classical Latin, consobrinus is used to designate a familial relative who is a cousin, distinct from terms for nephews or grandsons and from more distant kinship terms. The word appears in genealogical and narrative passages to identify a cousin within a family or clan.

Etymology and form: Consobrinus is a second-declension masculine noun, with consobrina the corresponding feminine form, which declines like a typical Latin 1st-declension noun. The masculine noun is often used in prose to refer to a male cousin, while consobrina refers to a female cousin. The word has derivatives in the plural forms and matches the standard Latin patterns for kinship terms, though the exact declension details vary by case and number.

Usage: In Latin literature, consobrinus commonly appears in family records, legal contexts, and narrative passages where kin relationships are described. It helps specify a relation that is more distant than a direct sibling but still within the immediate family circle. The term is primarily of historical and linguistic interest today, as contemporary languages have other words for cousin, and Latin is studied mainly for its historical usage and etymological connections.

Related terms: Kinship vocabulary in Latin includes avunculus (maternal or paternal uncle), amita or matertera (aunt), nepos or nepēs (nephew or grandson), and patruus (paternal uncle). Consobrinus sits among these terms as a precise label for a male cousin.

See also: Latin kinship terms, consobrina, Nepos and conviva in kinship contexts.