maternal uncle
noun1
The brother or brother-in-law of one’s mother. (This entry is a translation hub.)
- The social organization of the Trobriand Islanders of Melane- sia is characterized by matrilineal descent, free and familiar rela- tions between father and son, and a marked antagonism between maternal uncle and nephew.³¹ On the other hand, the patrilineal Cherkess of the Caucasus place the hostility between father and son, while the maternal uncle assists his nephew and gives him a horse when he marries.³²1963, Claude Lévy-Strauss, Structural Anthropology, New York: Basic Books, page 42:
- Related terms
- maternal aunt, paternal uncle, uterine nephew