second cousin

American  

noun

• second cousins
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• second cousins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of second cousin

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second cousin

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's hard to have a 'special' child. We love them the same, but we suffer for them," says Inés, who is married to a second cousin.

From BBC ● May 11, 2025

"There are countless parents who have lost a child after sending them to the military," he adds, recalling his second cousin who died.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024

They’d quiz each other on obscure connections, Lefty asking, “Who’s your second cousin Yiannis married to?”

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides