A few months ago, I discussed gender-neutral options for nieces and nephews. As a parent of 3 trans children, gender neutral words interest me. But even so, having a single word to use instead of three seems to be way more pragmatic, regardless of whether gender identity is an issue.
Nieces and nephews isn’t the only three-word familial phrase that lacks a widespread gender-neutral option: aunts and uncles also lacks one.
This is something I’ve been kind of researching on and off, but when someone asked me about it last week, I decided to delve into it.
Finding a gender neutral option for aunts and uncles is challenging. There is no such word in mainstream dictionaries, so we have to rely on emerging sources.
Auncle
Possibly the most popular option is auncle. It combines the a from aunt with uncle.
It has about 500,000 results on Google. it has an entry on Urban Dictionary.
Pibling
The next most popular option is probably pibling. It’s a contraction of parent’s siblings. And it has a construction similar to nibling, the gender neutral option for nieces and nephews.
A Google search brings up about 8,000 results. It has an entry in Urban Dictionary, as well as one in the Open Dictionary project by MacMillan Dictionary.
Plus, it has the added benefit of appearing in at least one academic journal. In 2005, doctor and writer Neville Goodman proposed pibling—as well as nibling—in an article published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Others
While auncle and pibling seem to be the most popular options, there are a few others, as well, none of which have really caught on. Here’s a list from the Nonbinary Wiki project:
- Avaun: From roots of both aunt and uncle: the anglo-French aunte and the Latin avunculus.
- Bibi: Based on the B in NB (nonbinary), similar to titi/zizi
- Entle: Combines sounds of aunt and uncle into a single word
- Nini: Based on the N in NB, similar to titi/zizi.
- Ommer
- Titi: from Spanish for aunt (tia) and uncle (tio) (however, often a diminutive of aunt)
- Zizi: From Italian for aunt (zia) and uncle (zio). (also French children’s word for penis.)
- Untie/unty: Combination of uncle and auntie/aunty.
So, there you have it. While none of these are widespread, auncle and pibling seem to be the most well known.
Have you heard any others? Let me know in the comments below.
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