kinsman

[kinz-muh n]

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noun, plural kins·men.

a blood relative, especially a male.

a relative by marriage.

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. 2019

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

a blood relation or a relation by marriage

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

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