aunt-in-law

From aunt +‎ -in-law.

aunt-in-law (plural aunts-in-law)

1. (nonstandard) The wife of one's uncle or aunt (parent's sibling).
   • 1871, William Lindsay, Inquiry into the Christian law, as to the relationships which bar marriage‎, page 86:

     Between uncle and aunt-in-law, or uncle's wife, you have a connection of affinity, and you have the same between aunt and uncle-in-law, or aunt's wife. [sic]

2. (nonstandard) The aunt of one's spouse.
   1. The aunt of one's husband.
      • 2009 August 28, contributor, Petunia Dursley, Harry Potter Wiki

        Petunia would later become an aunt-in-law to Harry's wife Ginevra Weasley and a great-aunt to Harry and Ginny's three children; James Sirius, Albus Severus,

   2. The aunt of one's wife.

Both meanings commonly used for aunt-in-law are used to define a distinction between someone who is an aunt by marriage (i.e., an in-law) and someone who is an aunt by blood (i.e., a sister of one of your parents). However both meanings are included within the standard definition of aunt, and for those who use this term, and a user may be trying to convey only one or both of the meanings given here. In general, unless there is a need for specificity, the use of aunt is to be preferred.

• in-law

• nephew-in-law
• niece-in-law
• uncle-in-law