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Archiver > LANCSGEN > 2008-12 > 1230157881


From: "David Mills" <>
Subject: Re: [LAN] Familial terminology: Grand Aunts etc
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:31:21 +0000
References: <E6C594B5664F419093B186723AC678BB@pc><494E8638.4080202@ntlworld.com><BLU0-SMTP47E94B04572543201BD1EF91EF0@phx.gbl><BAY103-W154E8B0311EE7EAB8BACDCCBEF0@phx.gbl><7853A8EC24ED48148B294B525546D60B@Chris><6758F737-249B-40AE-A164-A8F300F66170@comcast.net><BAY103-W4771968E6C7C00AC049950CBEC0@phx.gbl><B3DAAA04FB16274EB0E7F693A62CCE9A0295619044@NO-EXMBX-01.ad.efca.org>
In-Reply-To: <B3DAAA04FB16274EB0E7F693A62CCE9A0295619044@NO-EXMBX-01.ad.efca.org>


Oxford Refernce Dictionary has: *grand aunt *a great aunt* *(*see *GREAT*adj.
* 11)*

*great* adj *11. *(in comb)* (in names of family relationships)denoting one
degree further removed upwards or downwards *(great-uncle;
great-great-grandmother)*

Chambers is similar..grand'-aunt is great-aunt

Interesting that in Chambers several compound s with grand as a prefix also
show a superscript 1 referring back to the first definition in the list!

It is intriguing!

Seasonal Greetings to one and all!

David

2008/12/23 Larry Couch <>

> Sally and all,
>
> It is great (or maybe grand) that in this time of year we can examine a
> question such as this without a war starting between factions.
>
> Serious, I am with Sally -- the logic of Grand Aunt/Uncle makes sense in
> being the sibling of a Grandparent. I have noticed in my new FTM 2009 the
> clearly seen titles of Grand-Aunt, Great Grand Aunt etc. I had always grown
> up with the Great Aunt usage, and had wondered how Grand fit in, but all of
> this discussion has helped me a lot.
>
> I agree also with the conclusion that because it seems that so many people
> are used to the "incorrect" terminology, it will never get reversed, but it
> is nice for some to know what is proper.
>
> Christmas greetings to all throughout the world!
>
> Larry Couch
> Midwestern American, living in Sarajevo, Bosnia
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [mailto:]
> On Behalf Of sally roberts
> Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 6:41 PM
> To: englangeneral
> Subject: Re: [LAN] Familial terminology: Grand Aunts etc
>
>
> Etymology is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
>
> In defence of any 'forcing' my explanation has brought about, it does make
> sense that a sibling of a Grandparent should also take the title of Grand,
> and as my relationship calculator on my FTM program uses it, it's what I've
> grown used to.
>
> I've decided that I would like to be known as GreatAndGrand-Auntie Sally by
> my sister's grandkids.... :O)
>
>
> Regards,
> Sally.
> (Buckinghamshire, UK)
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------
> > Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:45:21 -0500
> > To:
> > From:
> > Subject: Re: [LAN] Familial terminology: Grand Aunts etc
> >
> > I'm not Susan, and I'm in the US, but I have to agree with Rhoda in
> > the UK. I never heard the terms "grand-aunt" or "grand-uncle" until
> > I started to do genealogy, and they still make me wince. Once I
> > realized it wasn't just a mistake, I thought maybe it was British
> > English usage rather than American English (even though I consider
> > myself pretty knowledgeable about British vs. American English and
> > still wasn't familiar with these terms) -- until I checked my trusty
> > Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (a standard American desktop
> > reference), and find that both are listed, so both must be American
> > usage. AskOxford.com (in the UK view) has no entry for "grand-aunt,"
> > just for "great-aunt" (in the Compact OED) so that supports Rhoda's
> > view that only "great-aunt" is used in British English. (Not
> > definitive, of course, but I don't have an OED sitting around to check).
> >
> > My new hypothesis is that it's a regional American usage -- I have
> > lived all over the northeastern US (Philadelphia, New York, Boston)
> > and never heard the term in common usage, so maybe it's a Southern
> > thing? Midwest? (I like the Southern hypotheses, because then I can
> > further hypothesize that it's Southern American English that's been
> > influenced by French. It seems to me like a French usage (just a gut
> > feeling), and at least one online translation site translates "great-
> > aunt" as "grande tante" -- but we all know how reliable online
> > translation sites are(n't). If it's a Midwest US usage, I'd expect
> > German or Scandinavian influence, and this just doesn't seem like
> > either, to me. But, again, I have nothing to base that on but
> > instinct). If it really is a French usage, I'd also expect to see it
> > in Canadian English and maybe in Maine (where there's a lot of French
> > Canadian influence) -- and probably not in Australian or New Zealand
> > English.
> >
> > In any event, Webster's says both are right (in American English), so
> > those who say "grand" is right and "great" is wrong need to stop
> > trying to force their usage onto the rest of us. Especially on a non-
> > US list like this, where (possibly regional) American English should
> > NOT be expected to be the standard. ;-)
> >
> > Claire K.
> > who grew up with lots of great-aunts and -uncles, and even a great-
> > great-aunt
> >
> >
> >
> > On Dec 22, 2008, at 5:16 AM, CandROverson wrote:
> >
> >> Susan
> >>
> >> Are you in the UK? I am, and I have never used, nor heard, the
> >> expression
> >> 'Grand' Aunt or 'Grand' Uncle. Rightly, or wrongly, 'Great'
> >> appears to be
> >> the common usage in the UK.
> >>
> >> Rhoda
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-:
> >
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> >
> >
> >
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