sibling

B2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Freq #16793

Meanings

1

noun
A brother or sister.

None of my siblings are married yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a brother or sister. sib

Word family

Forms siblings

Derived forms biosiblingco-siblingcross-siblingdiblingfull-siblinggod-siblinghalf-siblinghalfsiblingintersiblingmultisiblingnephlingnibling

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

male sibling
a brother

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Sibling is an Old English word related to sibb, meaning “a relative.” The same element appeared in Old English godsibb, the source of gossip, which originally meant a godparent or a person related to another in God.

Etymology

First use appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a citation in 1902 in which sibling must be defined for those who do not know the intended meaning.

sibling Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# sibling

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/
**Frequency rank:** 16793

## Meanings
1. A brother or sister.

## Examples
- None of my siblings are married yet.

## Derived Forms
- biosibling
- co-sibling
- cross-sibling
- dibling
- full-sibling
- god-sibling
- half-sibling
- halfsibling
- intersibling
- multisibling
- nephling
- nibling

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sibling
- Affix: -ling - small

## Etymology
First use appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a citation in 1902 in which sibling must be defined for those who do not know the intended meaning.

## AI Etymology
Sibling first appears c. 1903, a modern revival of Old English sibling (“relative, a relation, kinsman”), equivalent to sib + -ling. Compare Middle English siblynges pl, sib, sibbe (“relative; kinsman”), German Sippe. The term apparently meant merely kin or relative until the 20th century when it was applied in a way that aided the study of genetics, which led to its specialized use. For example, the OED has a citation in 1902 in which sibling must be defined for those who do not know the intended meaning. The historical chain includes sibling (Old English). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as biosibling, co-sibling, cross-sibling, and dibling. In present use it covers a brother or sister.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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