LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

sobrīnus

sobrīnus m (genitive sobrīnī, feminine sobrīna)

Meaning

  1. sororal nephew
  2. nephew
  3. mother's sister's son, maternal parallel cousin
  4. Late LatinA cousin's child.
    Sobrini consobrinorum filii.556-636 CE, Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae, page VIII:

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesobrīnussobrīnī
genitivesobrīnīsobrīnōrum
dativesobrīnōsobrīnīs
accusativesobrīnumsobrīnōs
ablativesobrīnōsobrīnīs
vocativesobrīnesobrīnī

sōbrīnus, i, m., and sōbrīna, ae, f. contr. for sororinus from soror, and therefore prop. an appellation for the children of sisters; hence, in gen.,
I. a cousin-german, cousin by the mother's side, Fest. p. 297 Müll.; Dig. 38, 10, 3; Just. Inst. 3, 6.
(a). Masc., Ter. And. 4, 5, 6; id. Phorm. 2, 3, 37; Cic. Off. 1, 17, 54; Dig. 38, 10, 1; 38, 10, 10. —
(b). Fem., Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 108; Tac. A. 12, 6 and 64; Dig. 38, 10, 10.

Origins

Substantivised form of the Proto-Italic adjective *swezrīnos (“of the sister”), from which *suebrīnus would be expected since swe- > so- occurs only before a non-front vowel in the next syllable. Thus the initial so- must be an analogical renewal from soror.

Elsewhere
  • Portuguesesobrinhofrom Old Galician-Portuguese sobrinho
  • Spanishsobrinofrom Old Spanish sobrino
  • Asturiansobrínfrom Old Leonese sopbrino
  • Extremaduransobrinufrom Old Leonese sopbrino
  • Leonesesobrínfrom Old Leonese sopbrino
  • Mirandesesobrinofrom Old Leonese sopbrino
  • Galiciansobriñofrom Old Galician-Portuguese sobrinho
Navarro-Aragonese
  • Aragonesesobrín

In English words that came into English from sobrīnus

  • cousincōnsobrīnus

Quick answers

What does sobrīnus mean in Latin?
sobrīnus, a noun, means “sororal nephew; nephew; mother's sister's son, maternal parallel cousin”.
What is the genitive of sobrīnus?
The genitive singular is sobrīnī. sobrīnus is masculine, second declension.