You probably all knew this, but I just learned that nibbling is the gender-neutral term for niece or nephew. https://www.merriam-webster.co...nephew%22.&text=That's%20right%3A%20nibling.


You learn something new every day. [I am having a horrible time linking to that site. Not sure what is wrong.]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
You probably all knew this, but I just learned that nibbling is the gender-neutral term for niece or nephew. https://www.merriam-webster.co...nephew%22.&text=That's%20right%3A%20nibling.


You learn something new every day. [I am having a horrible time linking to that site. Not sure what is wrong.]

Actually I didn't know that. I've always told my classes that we have common gender-neutral words for some familial relationships (parent, child, spouse), the less common but still used "sibling" and that some relationships (uncle/aunt or nephew/niece) don't have them at all. "Nibling" sounds good but I think I'll go on ignoring it for now as it's uncommon enough that I didn't even know it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,

Gosh, I thought it was a character from Norse mythology.

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff:
Gosh, I thought it was a character from Norse mythology.

You're confusing it with donuts - The Ring of the Nibbling.

Well, it began to be used in 2004-5, especially in the UK, the site I linked to says. It is reported to have been coined in 1951, though there is no primary source to support that.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Well, it began to be used in 2004-5, especially in the UK, the site I linked to says. It is reported to have been coined in 1951, though there is no primary source to support that.

Yes, I saw that. I wonder if they also coined one for uncle/aunt. Familial relationship words can vary greatly between languages. Chinese for example has separate words for older brother and younger brother and older sister and younger sister. And that hardly scratches the surface. Here's an article about it. http://blog.tutorming.com/mand...relatives-in-chinese

But we don't, and never have. It seems contrived to come up with them now.