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 kinsmen

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 kinsmen

Historical Examples of kinsmen

Only when they lay dead before him did he remember that they were his own kinsmen.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody
If ever he was to see her it would be to-night, when her kinsmen had promised to return.
Murder Point
Coningsby Dawson
They did not scruple, as other Arabs did, to fight against their kinsmen.
History of Religion
Allan Menzies
So he collected all his kinsmen, and set off to fetch his bride.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston
This being the case it was possible for us to quarrel, like kinsmen.
Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens
G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for kinsmen

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 kinsmen

kinsman

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