Etymology From a corruption of of kin, from Middle English of kyn (“related, of kin”), equivalent to a- + kin (1550s). Compare Old English cyn, cynn (“akin, proper, suitable”, adj.).
1
Of persons, of the same kin; related by blood.
[W]e are too near a kin to lye together, tho' vve may Lodge near one another; […]1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 137:
The faces changed, passing in rotation. Youthful faces, bearded faces, dark faces: faces serene, or faces moody, but all akin with the brotherhood of the sea.1897, Joseph Conrad, The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC:
2
Often, With to Allied by nature; similar; partaking of the same properties; of the same kind.
Is not then Fruition near akin to Love?1677, Theophilus Gale, The Court of the Gentiles, T. Cockeril, part 4, bk. 1, ch. 2, p. 27
She told me that she hoped my Face was not akin to my Tongue.1710 March 19 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1709–1710. To the Spectator, &c..”, in The Spectator, number 8; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 39:
4 more examples
Mr. Winkle . . . took his hand with a feeling of regard, akin to veneration.1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter XXXIX, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
Something akin to a smile shone on his face.1910 July, Zane Grey, “Old Well-Well”, in Success:
I'll be interested to see how this service does. It will be basic with fares to match, so will be akin to a budget airline taking on a flag-carrier.2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 52:
After all, that would be akin to a self-coup. Apart from the traditional vision of a coup requiring a military takeover of the government, self-coups occur when governments depart from typical norms of democracy by altering election laws, calling into question election results or seeking to suspend their constitutions in order to stay in power.2022 January 19, Robert Alexander, “What 2020’s pro-Trump phony electors means for 2024”, in CNN, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2022:
Etymology From a corruption of of kin, from Middle English of kyn (“related, of kin”), equivalent to a- + kin (1550s). Compare Old English cyn, cynn (“akin, proper, suitable”, adj.).