affinity

Definition of Affinity

(noun) Kinship established by marriage.

Examples of Affinity

• cousins
• in-laws
  

Affinity Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: af·fin·i·ty

Audio Pronunciation

Phonetic Spelling

• American English – /uh-fIn-uh-tee/
• British English – /uh-fIn-i-tee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /əˈfɪnᵻdi/
• British English – /əˈfɪnᵻti/

Usage Notes

• Plural: affinities
• Lewis Henry Morgan’s (1818–1881) Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity in the Human Family (1871) and Claude Lévi-Strauss’ (1908–2009) The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949) help establish the study of kinship as a distinct field of anthropology and sociology. Morgan and Lévi-Strauss among other kinship writers were critiqued by David M. Schneider (1918–1995) in American Kinship: A Cultural Account and A Critique of the Study of Kinship (1984). Schneider’s work reinvigorated the study of kinship.
• Kinship relationships based on marriage are called affinal relations and produce affinal kin.
• Some definitions of affinity include adoption.
• Affinity is the opposite of consanguinity.
• A male’s father-in-law and mother-in-law are (adjective) affinal or (adjective) affine or (adjective) affinitive relationships.

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “affinity” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• bigamy
• endogamy
• exogamy
• extended family
• family life cycle
• family of orientation
• family of procreation
• marriage
• open marriage
• polyamory

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Cite the Definition of Affinity

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

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

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

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

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

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

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

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