aunt

/ɑ:nt/

Thân thiện

My aunt is reading a storybook to her niece.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A female relative who is the sister of one's father or mother: This is the primary meaning, referring to a person's parent's sister.
   • The wife of one's uncle: This extends the term to include the spouse of a parent's brother.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • My aunt is coming to visit us this weekend. (This refers to the sister of my parent.)
  • We are having dinner with Aunt Sarah and Uncle John. (Here, 'Aunt' could be my uncle's wife or my parent's sister.)
  • She inherited the necklace from her favorite aunt. (This specifies a particular aunt among several.)

Advanced Usage

• "Great-aunt": This refers to the aunt of one's parent (e.g., your grandmother's sister).
  • My great-aunt told me stories about the war.
• "Auntie" or "Aunty": These are informal, affectionate terms for 'aunt'.
  • We love going to Auntie Mae's house.
• The term can be used as a respectful form of address for an older female friend of the family, even without a blood relation.
  • Hello, Aunt Lisa! (Said to a close family friend.)

Variants and Related Words

• Auntie/Aunty (n): Informal, affectionate variant of 'aunt'.
• Great-aunt (n): The sister of one's grandparent.
• Grandaunt (n): Synonym for great-aunt.
• Aunt-in-law (n): The wife of one's uncle (a more precise, though less common, term for this relationship).

Synonyms

• Relative: A person connected by blood or marriage.
• Kinswoman: A female relative.

Related Phrases

• "Aunt Sally": (British English) A person or idea that is set up as an easy target for criticism.
  • The government's new policy became an Aunt Sally for the opposition.

Related Idioms

• "My aunt!": An old-fashioned, mild exclamation of surprise or disbelief.
  • "My aunt! Is that really you?"

Học thuật

Noun

1. the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle

Từ đồng nghĩa

• auntie
• aunty