consanguineous

Also con·san·guine

[kon-sang-gwin-ee-uhs]

adjective

1. having the same ancestry or descent; related by blood.

Other Word Forms

• consanguineously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of consanguineous¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin consanguineus “related by blood, kindred; blood relation, kinsman,” equivalent to con- + sanguin- (stem of sanguis) “blood” + -eus adjective suffix. Consanguineous first occurs in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (1602), and Shakespeare may have introduced the word into English. See con-, -eous

Example Sentences

Several children were the result of consanguineous marriages, in which the parents are related.

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In the 2000s, papers on the genetics of Roma people still referred to the group with the outdated term “Gypsy,” which is considered a slur, or with pejorative terms such as “inbred” or “consanguineous.”

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“Also, consanguineous marriages – first cousin to first cousin – have been reported to increase the incidence to as high as three percent, so we see more congenital heart disease in the Middle East North Africa countries.”

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When the child of a consanguineous union develops a recessive disease, the responsible mutation usually lies within a larger identical block of DNA inherited from both parents.

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“Ninety percent of the cases I see are caused by consanguineous marriages,” says Ms Zaki.

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