daughter-in-law

[daw-ter-in-law]

noun

plural

daughters-in-law 

1. the wife of one's child.

daughter-in-law

noun

1. the wife of one's son

Word History and Origins

Origin of daughter-in-law¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English doughter in lawe; daughter, in, law ¹; 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

Example Sentences

It was only the Widow Ashton’s inability to see objects clearly without her pince-nez that prevented her from spotting her daughter-in-law the moment she climbed out of her carriage.

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For the next half hour, he straightened up and tried to fix the television as his sons, his daughter-in-law, and a grandchild gathered outside the house.

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Her daughter-in-law Maria, Yuri’s brother’s wife, charged in, panting after the run from her house.

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That’s when her daughter-in-law swung the sword at her multiple times, prosecutors said.

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Or is it normal to not leave anything to a daughter-in-law?

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