Hypertext Webster Gateway: "uncle"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Uncle \Un"cle\, n.
An eldery man; -- used chiefly as a kindly or familiar
appellation, esp. (Southern U. S.) for a worthy old negro;
as, ``Uncle Remus.'' [Colloq.]

Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great
ears, -- an immense talker. --Emerson.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Uncle \Un"cle\, n. [OE. uncle, OF. oncle, uncle, F. oncle, fr.
L. avunculus a maternal uncle, dim. of avus a grandfather;
akin to Lith. avynas uncle, Goth. aw? grandmother, Icel.
[=a]i great grandfather.]
1. The brother of one's father or mother; also applied to an
aunt's husband; -- the correlative of aunt in sex, and of
nephew and niece in relationship.

2. A pawnbroker. [Slang] --Thackeray.

{My uncle}, a pawnbroker. [Slang]

{Uncle Sam}, a humorous appellation given to the United
States Government. See {Uncle Sam}, in Dictionary of Noted
Names in Fiction.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

uncle
n 1: the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your
aunt [ant: {aunt}]
2: a source of help and advice and encouragement; "he played
uncle to lonely students"


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