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A.Word.A.Day--enate

noun: Someone related on the mother's side.

adjective: 1. Related on one's mother's side. Also enatic. 2. Growing outward.

[From Latin enatus, past participle of enasci (to issue forth), from e-, from ex- (out) + nasci (to be born).]

Agnate is the term for someone related on the father's side. Cognate is the generic term meaning having a common ancestor.

"Never was a writer so blessed (or cursed?) with so many interactive relatives. Garner likes to label them as Enates or Agnates; but whether on his mother's side or his father's, these collateral branch members of the family tree were often in contact with Melville and his immediate family, and sometimes on a daily basis."
Gerald R. Griffin; The Civil War World of Herman Melville; Studies in American Fiction (Boston, Massachusetts); Sep 22, 1995.

See more usage examples of enate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

This week's theme: Words about relations

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