Definition

Noun: A system of tracing kinship, family lineage, or descent where an individual belongs equally to the kinship groups of both their mother and their father. This system recognizes and counts ancestors and relatives from both the maternal and paternal sides of the family.

Usage

This term is used primarily in anthropology, sociology, and genealogy to describe a specific principle of familial organization and inheritance. It contrasts with systems like unilineal descent (which traces lineage through only one parent's line).

Examples

• In many Western societies that practice bilateral descent, a person inherits surnames, property, and obligations from both parents' families.
• Anthropologists note that bilateral descent is common in industrial and post-industrial nations, where kinship ties to both sets of grandparents are typically acknowledged.
• The family tree created for the genealogy project clearly illustrated bilateral descent, showing ancestors from his mother's and his father's sides.

Advanced Usage

• Bilateral kinship: Often used interchangeably with "bilateral descent," this phrase emphasizes the network of relationships formed through this system.
  • The concept of bilateral kinship means she considers all her aunts and uncles, whether maternal or paternal, as equally important.

Variants and Related Words

• Bilateral (adj): Involving or affecting two sides, parties, or groups. This is the root adjective from which the term is derived.
  • The two countries reached a bilateral trade agreement.
• Descent (n): The origin or background of a person in terms of family or ancestry.
  • She is of Italian descent.
• Cognatic descent: A synonym used in anthropological literature, emphasizing kinship calculated through all genealogical links, regardless of sex.
• Unilineal descent (n): The antonym system, where descent is traced through only one line, either matrilineal (mother's line) or patrilineal (father's line).

Synonyms

• Cognatic descent
• Bilateral kinship

Antonyms

• Unilineal descent
• Patrilineal descent (tracing through the father's line only)
• Matrilineal descent (tracing through the mother's line only)

Noun

1. line of descent traced through both the maternal and paternal sides of the family