Uncle

Oheim ( Middle High German œheim (e) , Old High German ōheim , West Germanic * awa-haima- : "mother brother") is an outdated term for the brother of one's own mother (the uncle on the mother's side), documented since the 9th century. In various dialects as well as in Dutch , the expression is still used today, sometimes in modification as Ohm, Öhi, Ühm or oom . The female form is “ aunt ” for the sister of one's own mother, also out of date.

In the European cultural area , this kinship relationship had a special meaning as long as single or widowed women fell under the guardianship of a male relative - if the father had died, i.e. under that of an (older) brother. In practical life, an uncle was far more important to his sister's children (his nephews and nieces ) than his father's male relatives (mother or children): Often the uncle took on social parenting and a duty of care for the sister's children (compare also godfather ).

Around the world, there are many kinship terminologies for uncles and aunts that each have their own names that indicate their gender , their descent and their relationship to a parent . With around 160  indigenous peoples , whose families are organized according to their maternal lines ( matrilineal descent and succession), the mother brother has a special meaning as a protector and supporter of his sister and her children. For them, as a mother's uncle, he is often more important than the father of the children (compare, for example, the roles of men with the Khasi in north-east India).

In Latin , the mother's brother is called avunculus , from which the avunculate for the social paternity of the mother's uncle is derived. Together with the avunculocality (marital residence with the wife's brother), the avunculate can be understood as the selection of relatives : the promotion of sister children as a proportion of their own genetic makeup ( kinship coefficient : 25%) to strengthen overall biological fitness . Another socio-cultural evolutionary advantage comes from the fact that in such cultures children can have several “fathers” at their side as protectors and supporters.

literature

• Friedrich Kluge : Uncle. In: Derselbe, Elmar Seebold (Hrsg.): Etymological dictionary of the German language. 24th, revised and expanded edition. Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2001, ISBN 978-3-11-017473-1 , p. 664.
• Rudolf Blümel: Uncle. In: Contributions to the history of the German language and literature (PBB). Year 1929, issue 53, pp. 55–58 ( doi: 10.1515 / bgsl.1929.1929.53.55 ).

Web links

Wiktionary: Uncle  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wiktionary: Ohm

Individual evidence

1. ^ Friedrich Kluge : Uncle. In: Derselbe, Elmar Seebold (Hrsg.): Etymological dictionary of the German language. 24th, revised and expanded edition. Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2001, ISBN 978-3-11-017473-1 , p. 664.
2. ^ Data on matrilinearity worldwide (1998): J. Patrick Gray: Ethnographic Atlas Codebook. In: World Cultures. Volume 10, No. 1, 1998, p. 86–136, here p. 104: Table 43 Descent: Major Type (one of the few evaluations of all 1267 ethnic groups recorded worldwide at that time; PDF: 2.4 MB, 52 pages, without page numbers on eclectic.ss.uci.edu); Quote: "584 Patrilineal - 160 Matrilineal - 52 Duolateral - 49 Ambilineal - 11 Quasi-lineages - 349 bilateral - 45 Mixed - 17 Missing data".