parallel-cousin

Definition of Parallel-cousin

(noun) The kinship of children from same sex siblings such as two brothers or two sisters.

Examples of Parallel-cousin

• An individual’s father’s brother’s children.
• A mother’s sister’s children.
  

Parallel-cousin Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: par·al·lel cous·in

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈpɛrəˌlɛl-ˈkʌzən/
• British English – /ˈpærəlɛl-ˈkʌzn/

Usage Notes

• Plural: parallel-cousins
• The sexes of the children do not matter as long as the sexes of the siblings are the same.
• A parallel cousin is part of an extended family.
• In contrast to parallel-cousin, cross-cousin is the kinship of children from a brother and sister and both kinship statuses are used to determine marriage eligibility.
• Variant forms:
  • parallel cousin
  • parallelcousin
• Also called ortho-cousin.
• Two people who are parallel-cousins share (noun) parallel-cousinhood or (noun) parallel-cousinship and are (adverb) parallel-cousinly related.

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “parallel” and “cousin” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Berns, Roberta. 2004. Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Collins, Randall. 1985. Sociology of Marriage and the Family: Gender, Love, and Property. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
• Hill, Shirley A. 2012. Families: A Social Class Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• LaRossa, Ralph, ed. 1984. Family Case Studies: A Sociological Perspective. New York: Free Press.
• Mead, Margaret, and Ken Heyman. 1965. Family. New York: Macmillan.
• Newman, David M. 2009. Families: A Sociological Perspective. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
• Parsons, Talcott, and Robert Freed Bales. 1955. Family, Socialization and Interaction Process. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
• Scott, Jacqueline L., Judith Treas, and Martin Richards, eds. 2004. The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Related Terms

• alliance
• cousin
• cross-cousin
• family
• father
• kinship
• marriage
• mother
• relative

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Cite the Definition of Parallel Cousin

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “parallel-cousin.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/parallel-cousin/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

parallel-cousin. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/parallel-cousin/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “parallel-cousin.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/parallel-cousin/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“parallel-cousin.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/parallel-cousin/>.