sister

Definitions of Sister

1. (noun) A female (daughter) with the same parent as another individual; female sibling.
2. (noun) A female member of a group such as a sorority or religion.

Examples of Sister

• Definition 1:
  • Twin sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen portrayed Michelle Tanner on Full House.
• Definition 2:
  • nun

Sister Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: sis·ter

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈsɪstər/
• British English – /ˈsɪstə/

Usage Notes

• Plural: sisters
• An individual’s older sister is called a big sister and a younger sister is called a little sister, and sibling’s wife is a sister-in-law.
• An individual’s sister with only one parent in common is a half sister (half-sister) or step sister (step-sister).
• The male equivalent of sister is a brother.
• An individual’s parent’s sister is an aunt.
• Variant spelling: sista
• Also called sister sibling.
• Informally called: sis
• The term (adjective) sororal means relating to sisters or (adjective) sisterly tendencies, and sisters share a (noun) sisterhood.

Related Quotations

• “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).
• “In American society, the basic kinship system consists of parents and children, but it may include other relatives as well, especially grandparents. Each person in this system has certain rights and obligations as a result of his or her position in the family structure. Furthermore, a person may occupy several positions at the same time. For example, an 18-year-old woman may simultaneously be a daughter, a sister, a cousin, an aunt, and a granddaughter. Each role entails different rights and obligations. As a daughter, the young woman may have to defer to certain decisions of her parents; as a sister, to share her bedroom; as a cousin, to attend a wedding; and as a granddaughter, to visit her grandparents during the holidays” (Strong, Devault, and Cohen 2011:19).

Related Video

Additional Information

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

Related Terms

• family
• genealogy
• kinship
• marriage
• parent

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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 Sister

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “sister.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 25, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/sister/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

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

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

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “sister.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/sister/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“sister.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/sister/>.