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The following words are used in the study of kinship in anthropology. For more clarification on the usage of these words, consult a dictionary or an introductory anthropology text.
A
Affinity- relationships
through marriage
Ambilineal- descent traced and kinship groups
assigned through either the male or female line; example of cognatic rule
system
Ambilocal- newly married
couples live with the husband or wife's parents
Avunculocal- newly married
couples live with the husband's mother's brother
B
Bilateral- descent traced and kinship groups
assigned through both male and female lines; example of cognatic rule system
Bilocal- newly married couple shifts between
living with husbands parents and wife's parents
Bride Price- valuable items are given to the wife's
family in exchange for her hand in marriage
Bride Service- husband works for his future in-laws
for several months or years in exchange for being allowed to marry their
daughter
C
Cognatic- a class of descent
rules; both male and female lines are used to determine relationships between
people; group members can trace their heritage to a common ancestor; bilateral
descent is the most common form of cognatic rule
Consanguine- related
biologically, blood relative
Cross Cousin- children of an
individual's mother's brother or father's sister
D
Descent- tracing kinship relationships through
several generations
Double Descent- tracing kinship both matrilineally
and patrilineally; not the same as unilineal descent or bilateral descent
Dowry- valuables given to husband from the wife's
family at the time of marriage
E
Endogamous-
marriages occur within the boundaries of the domestic group (between members of
the same group); not the same as incest
Exogamous- marriages occur outside of the domestic group
(between members of different groups)
F
Family- base unit of kinship relationships; group of
related people
Fictive Kinship- kinship
relationships not based on affinal or consanguineal ties
G
Genitor- biological father
Genitrix- biological
mother
H
I
Incest- sex relations and
marriages between people recognized as relatives; examples include
sister-brother and parent-child relationships; incest is culturally relative,
but a common rule in possibly all cultures
J
K
Kindred- the relatives
recognized in a bilateral kinship system
Kinship- the ideas that
related people have about one another and how that influences their
relationships
Kin Terminological System -
the words used in a specific culture to designate kin relationships
L
M
Marriage- a relationship
usually involving co-resident heterosexual mating and reproduction
Matrifocal- non-nuclear
domestic arrangement where mother is single-parent; sometimes mother is serial
monogamist, other times polyandrous
Matrilineal- descent traced
through the mother's line; example of unilineal rule system
Matrilocal- newly married
couple lives with wife's mother
Monogamy- marriage with one
spouse exclusively for life
N
Neolocal- newly married couple lives independently
in a new location
Nuclear Family- husband, wife and children
O
P
Patrilineal- descent traced through the father's line;
example of unilineal rule system
Patrilocal- newly married couple lives with
husband's father
Polyandry- wife has several husbands
Polygamy- plural marriages
Polygyny- husband has several wives
Q
R
S
Serial Monogamy- marriage to
one spouse at a time
Sister Exchange- husbands
trade sisters to be each other's wives in order to keep any group from losing a
woman
T
U
Unilateral- a
class of descent rules; descent traced through a single line
Uxorilocal- newly married
couple lives with wife's kin
V
Virilocal- newly married couple lives with husband's
kin
W
X
Y
Z
Terms and definitions adapted from:
Harris, Marvin. Cultural Anthropology: Third Edition , Harper Collins Publishers 1991.
Ferraro, Gary. Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective, West Publishing Company 1992.
photo credit: Three Generations; Reiss, Winold; PicturesNOW!
http://www.lycos.com/picturethis/americana/native_americans/General/711191.html