This week’s theme
Lesser-known counterparts of words

This week’s words
earwitness
diachronic
consanguinity
plebeian

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(kon-sang-GWIN-i-tee)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A relationship by blood or by a common ancestor.
2. A close connection or kinship.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin consanguineus, from con- (with) + sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1380.

NOTES:

The counterpart of consanguinity is affinity, which refers to a relationship formed through marriage rather than by blood.

USAGE:

“The musical consanguinity of the guitarist and pianist [Metheny/Mehldau] is undeniable. It’s also, paradoxically, something which enables each to remain emphatically individual, and a key to why their duo work is so unforgettable; they can enter each other’s musical world and cast light on it from a different perspective.”
Jazz; Irish Times (Dublin); Nov 3, 2006.

See more usage examples of consanguinity in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: