daughter-in-law

[ daw-ter-in-law ]

/ ˈdɔ tər ɪnˌlɔ /

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noun, plural daugh·ters-in-law.

the wife of one's child.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of daughter-in-law

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English doughter in lawe; see origin at daughter, in, law¹; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins

Words nearby daughter-in-law

dauerschlaf, Daugava, Daugavpils, daughter, daughter cell, daughter-in-law, daughter language, daughterly, Daughters of the American Revolution, Daumier, dauncy

How to use daughter-in-law in a sentence

And there is this curious connection as well: Leila and Temur have the same daughter-in-law.
The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord|Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The family shared housing with the ever present and domineering Sara, who rarely had a kind word for her daughter-in-law.
Eleanor Roosevelt: Feminist Icon|Eleanor Clift|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was already complaining that people would send money to her daughter-in-law Marina, but that she would be forgotten.
Oswald’s Mother Was a Thoroughly Disagreeable Piece of Work|Steve North|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His wife, son, and daughter-in-law are all A-listers in the industry.
Amitabh Bachchan, the Bollywood Friend of ‘The Great Gatsby’|Sujay Kumar|May 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Now staying with his son and daughter-in-law in their small apartment in Bayside, Queens, he is facing two battles.
In Sandy’s Wake, a New York Doorman Without a Home|Abigail Pesta|November 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They were still living in 1823, when their son and their daughter-in-law had been deceased some time.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
Although a bourgeoisie of strict ideas, Mme. du Bruel welcomed the dancer Tullia, who became her daughter-in-law.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
His daughter-in-law looked at him with compassionate eyes that he could hardly bear.
David Fleming's Forgiveness|Margaret Murray Robertson
I intend to make my daughter-in-law very happy and I am afraid that my son will not make her so.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
There is not one I have mentioned who is not unexceptionable, and whom I would gladly embrace as a daughter-in-law.
Newton Forster|Captain Frederick Marryat

British Dictionary definitions for daughter-in-law

daughter-in-law

noun plural daughters-in-law

the wife of one's son

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012