second cousin

American  

noun

1. a child of a first cousin of one's parent.

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second cousin British  

noun

1. the child of a first cousin of either of one's parents

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second cousin Idioms  

1. Something that is related or similar but not quite the same, as in This beef stew is second cousin to boeuf bourguignon. This expression transfers the literal sense of second cousin —that is, the child of the first cousin of one's mother or father—a usage dating from the mid-1600s.

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Etymology

Origin of second cousin

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

In 1937 Jessica eloped to Europe with her second cousin Esmond Romilly—their ill-starred plan was to head to Spain to report on the civil war there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

No one — not his children or your nieces or the next-door neighbor’s second cousin twice removed — has a right to that money.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

It turns out the city’s director of parks, Jason Kronsberg, is my second cousin, whom I arranged to meet for the first time at Waterfront Park.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

He’s meeting a Portsmouth ship arriving from India bearing his second cousin, Angela and — a surprise to Lenox — her lifelong friend and companion, an Indian girl named Sari.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2025

In the afternoon, Zeitoun got a call from Adnan, a second cousin on Zeitoun’s mother’s side.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers