kin

1 of 3

noun

1
: a group of persons of common ancestry : clan
2
a
: one's relatives : kindred
our neighbors and their kin
close kin
b
: kinsman
he wasn't any kin to youJean Stafford
3
archaic : kinship

kin

2 of 3

adjective

-kin

3 of 3

noun suffix

kən
variants or less commonly -kins
kənz
: little
catkin
babykins

Examples of kin in a Sentence

Noun They are her distant kin. invited all of his kith and kin to his graduation party
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As one of our closest kin in the animal world, chimpanzees, with their striking similarities and intriguing differences to humans, offer a glimpse into our own ancestry. Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024 By any moniker, the bluegill enjoys top-shelf status among its sunfish kin. David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 11 Jan. 2024 Each serves as a reminder that although your own kin may be difficult, you at least aren't related to the ones below. Ilana Masad, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2023 The must-read (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) L.A.’s wild parrots might be the key to rescuing their imperiled kin in their native habitat. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023 But the more relevant prospect for unease is the rapport between machines and machines—between the automata of the state and the corporation and their A.I. kin. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2023 Arabs are all brothers, the reasoning goes, so Arab regimes should be prepared, if not eager, to take care of their kin; at least, this is how the apparent obligation is filtered crudely through the Western news media. Joost R. Hiltermann, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2023 Their North American kin is the hellbender, found in the South and in the eastern United States. Lee Powell, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 One child cut out pictures of kids from magazines and presented them as her kin. Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2023
Adjective
Bennett’s musings have an ethical component: if a nuisance tree, or a dead tree, or a dead rat is my kin, then everything is kin—even a piece of trash. Morgan Meis, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023 The Oscar winners have been friends for half a century and their kin span generations. Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2023 As for the common people, geographical and social isolation is sharply mitigated by modern transportation networks, as well as larger scale non-kin institutions such as the Christian church. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 Aug. 2010

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English cynn; akin to Old High German chunni race, Latin genus birth, race, kind, Greek genos, Latin gignere to beget, Greek gignesthai to be born

Adjective

attributive use of kin entry 1

Noun suffix

Middle English, from Middle Dutch -kin; akin to Old High German -chīn, diminutive suffix

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1597, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kin was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near kin

Cite this Entry

“Kin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kin. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

kin

1 of 3 noun
1
: a person's relatives
2

kin

2 of 3 adjective
: being related : kindred

-kin

3 of 3 noun suffix
kən
variants also -kins
kənz
: little
often used in affectionate nicknames
babykins
Etymology

Noun suffix

Middle English -kin "little," from early Dutch -kin "little"

Legal Definition

kin

noun
: one's relatives
kinship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on kin

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