sib

American  

[sib] / sɪb /

adjective

1. related by blood; akin.

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noun

1. a kinsman; relative.

2. one's kin or kindred.

3. Anthropology. a unilateral descent group.

sib ¹ British  

/ sɪb /

noun

1. a blood relative

2. a brother or sister; sibling

3. kinsmen collectively; kindred

4. any social unit that is bonded by kinship through one line of descent only

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SIB ² British  

abbreviation

1. (the former) Securities and Investments Board

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Etymology

Origin of sib

First recorded before 900; Middle English sib(e), sibb(e), Old English sib(b) (originally an adjective); cognate with Old Norse sifjar (plural) “relatives,” Old Frisian sib (adjective), sibba (noun), Middle Dutch sibbe (noun and adjective), German Sippe “kin”; gossip

Example Sentences

Awful in Celadon: I would alert the sib that parameters have been received and noted, and they will be treated as suggestions, not marching orders, thanks in advance for understanding.

From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2023

Greg’s teen sib is a pill, too, especially next to his sage mom, antsy dad and supercute moppet kid-brother.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2021

With community support my sib lives in an apartment, with visits from our family members who help with housework.

From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2015

Working with that emotional clay, a big brother could easily shape his little sib into nearly anything he wanted.

From Time • Jan. 8, 2015

Suffering, it seems, maketh me sib with God.'

From The Life and Death of Richard Yea-and-Nay by Hewlett, Maurice Henry

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• niece
• sibling
• uncle