cousin
cousin — noun
1. a relative whose parent is the brother or sister of one of your parents; the wor
a relative whose parent is the brother or sister of one of your parents; the word can also refer to any more distant family member connected through a shared earlier ancestor
Bao spent the whole summer holiday visiting his cousins in the countryside.
possessive determiner + cousins: his cousins
Reema and Mira are cousins whose mothers are sisters.
Andrew's cousin Tamás stayed for two weeks during the summer break.
The family reunion brought together forty cousins from three generations.
When Sayaka visited her cousin in Taipei, they explored the night markets together.
用法筆記
English distinguishes 'first cousin' (child of your aunt or uncle), 'second cousin' (child of your parent's cousin), and 'once removed' (one generation apart). The word cousin alone most often means a first cousin.
常見錯誤
2. a country, population, or cultural group that shares a common background, herita
a country, population, or cultural group that shares a common background, heritage, or ethnic roots with another similar group
The Scandinavian languages are linguistic cousins that share a common Germanic root.
linguistic / cultural / evolutionary + cousins
Anthropologists study chimpanzees as our closest living cousins in the animal world.
The festival celebrated the bond between Brazil and its Portuguese cousins across the ocean.
Norway and Iceland are cultural cousins with shared Viking heritage and traditions.
- counterpart
emphasizes equivalent role or function rather than shared origin
- kin
more literary and narrower; usually refers to blood relatives, not cultural groups
用法筆記
In this sense the noun is almost always plural and requires an adjective or possessive modifier that specifies the type of connection (linguistic cousins, cultural cousins, our closest cousins).
3. an object, living thing, or concept that resembles or is connected to another th
an object, living thing, or concept that resembles or is connected to another thing in form, structure, function, or origin
The electric scooter is a smaller, quieter cousin of the motorcycle.
adjective + cousin + of: smaller cousin of [something]
Cauliflower and broccoli are botanical cousins that belong to the same species.
This newly discovered virus is a dangerous cousin of the common cold virus.
The compact camera is a lightweight cousin of the professional studio model.
- counterpart
suggests an equivalent in a different system or context, with less implication of shared origin
- relative
works for objects in a category but sounds less precise in technical contexts
- analogue
more formal, used in scientific or technical writing for things with parallel function
用法筆記
This sense is typically used with a preceding adjective (smaller, dangerous, modern, close, distant) followed by of + [the thing it resembles]. It is common in journalism, science writing, and product reviews.