Table of Contents
Definition of In-law
(noun) A relative by marriage, typically referring to a spouse’s mother or father.
Examples of In-law
- brother-in-law
- father-in-law
- mother-in-law
- sister-in-law
In-law Pronunciation
Syllabification: in law
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /In-law/
- British English – /In-law/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ɪn-lɑ/
- British English – /ɪn-lɔː/
Usage Notes
- Plural: in-laws
- In-law means “not by blood” or consanguinity.
- In some kinship systems, requires married couples to live with in-laws. A nuclear family, does not live with in-laws or other members of an extended family.
- Variant spelling: inlaw
- Also called relative-in-law.
Related Quotation
- “Families of orientation, procreation, and cohabitation provide us with some of the most important roles we will assume in life. The nuclear family roles (such as parent, child, husband, wife, and sibling) combine with extended family roles (such as grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, and in-law) to form the kinship system” (Strong, Devault, and Cohen 2011:19).
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “in-law” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Reference
Strong, Bryan, Christine DeVault, and Theodore F. Cohen. 2011. The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society. 11th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Cite the Definition of In-law
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “in-law.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/in-law/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
in-law. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/in-law/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “in-law.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/in-law/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“in-law.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/in-law/>.