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definitions

kinsman

[kinz-muh n]
See more synonyms for kinsman on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural kins·men.
  1. a blood relative, especially a male.
  2. a relative by marriage.
  3. a person of the same nationality or ethnic group.

Origin of kinsman

First recorded in 1100–50, kinsman is from the late Old English word cinnes man. See kin, 's1, man1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for kinsman

agnate, cognate, sibling, folk, father, folks, kinswoman, mother, blood, cousin, connection, relation, kin, sister-in-law, stepparent, nephew, father-in-law, sib, niece, grandparents

Examples from the Web for kinsman

Historical Examples of kinsman

  • By some remarkable intuition my kinsman Teunis was prompted to advance at this.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • You are, or rather your kinsman Peter, is still in the wood.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • "Pete Gansevoort dragged you off on his back," my kinsman concluded.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • Do you speak to me thus of my kinsman, the Cardinal-Duke de Lerma?

    Calderon The Courtier

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • We have a fighting strain in us ever since my kinsman followed Ireton's army as a sutler.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for kinsman

kinsman

noun plural -men
  1. a blood relation or a relation by marriage
  2. a member of the same race, tribe, or ethnic stock
Derived Formskinswoman, fem n
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
Word Origin and History for kinsman
n.

c.1200, kenesmen, from late Old English cynnes mannum; see kin + man. Kinswoman is recorded from c.1400.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper