LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

avunculus

avunculus m (genitive avunculī)
Classical[aˈwʊŋ.kʊ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[aˈvuŋ.ku.lus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. Classical Latinmasculinematernal uncle, mother's brother
  2. Latinmasculinevulgaruncle (maternal or paternal)
  3. masculinemother's sister's husband
  4. masculinegreat-uncle

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

frāter mātris.
avunculus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
frāter mātris
avunculus -ī (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 1 and Aeneis, ch. 23

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeavunculusavunculī
genitiveavunculīavunculōrum
dativeavunculōavunculīs
accusativeavunculumavunculōs
ablativeavunculōavunculīs
vocativeavunculeavunculī

ăvuncŭlus (AVOMCVLVS and AVONCLVS, Fabr. Gloss. p. 227, a), i, m. dim. avus; cf. Lith. avynas, uncle,
I. a mother's brother, maternal uncle (a brother of the father, patruus).
I. Lit.
A. In gen., Cic. de Or. 2, 84, 341; Verg. A. 3, 343; Plin. 5, 8, 6, § 20; Vulg. Gen. 28, 2; 29, 10: uxor patrui vel avunculi, ib. Lev. 20, 10; Isid. Orig. 9, 6, 17; cf. Dig. 38, 10, 10 P.—Hence,
B. Esp.
1. Avunculus magnus, a grandmother's brother (aviae frater), great-uncle, Cic. Brut. 62, 222; Dig. 38, 10, 1; 38, 10, 10; Isid. Orig. 9, 16, 26.—
2. Avunculus major, a brother of the great-grandmother, greatgreat-uncle (proaviae frater), Dig. l. l. (in Isid. Orig. l. l., proavunculus).—
3. Avunculus maximus, a brother of the great-greatgrandmother (abaviae frater), Dig. l. l. (in Isid. Orig. l. l., abavunculus).—In the histt. sometimes avunculus major = avunculus magnus, brother of the grandmother, Vell. 2, 59; Suet. Aug. 7; id. Claud. 3; and avunculus absol. = avunculus major, Tac. A. 2, 43; 2, 53; 4, 75.—
II. Transf., the husband of the mother's sister, Sen. Cons. ad Helv. 17.

Origins

By surface analysis, avus + -unculus. Actually from an n-stem noun suffixed with -culus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewh₂-on-, a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Proto-Celtic *awontīr (“uncle”) and possibly Proto-Germanic *awô (“grandfather”), from *h₂éwh₂os (“older male relative”)), whence also avus (“grandfather”).

Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanonclefrom Old Catalan avoncle
  • Catalanonclofrom Old Catalan avoncle
  • Occitanonclefrom Old Occitan avoncle
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianunchi
  • Romanianunchiu
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Old Neapolitanvuònculo
  • Old Venetanavoncoli
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Romanshaug
  • Romanshô
  • Romanshoc
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençaloncllefrom Old Franco-Provençal uncle
  • Franco-Provençaloncllofrom Old Franco-Provençal uncle
  • Old Frenchoncle
Ancient borrowings
  • Albanianungël
  • Albanianungj

Quick answers

What does avunculus mean in Latin?
avunculus, a noun, means “maternal uncle, mother's brother; uncle (maternal or paternal); mother's sister's husband”.
What is the genitive of avunculus?
The genitive singular is avunculī. avunculus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce avunculus?
In classical Latin, [aˈwʊŋ.kʊ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [aˈvuŋ.ku.lus].