Glossary

affinal- related through marriage.

agnatic- see patrilineal

ambilineal- involving claims to group membership, property, and status through only one parent, although the choice between the paternal or maternal bond is open to choice.

ambilocal- a residential arrangement in which a married couple can choose to live with either set of parents.

avunculocal- residence form determined by a rule that, upon adulthood, a man moves to his mother's brother's household.

bifurcate merging- a terminological system which distinguishes relatives on the father's and mother's side of the family and lumps (merges) each group into a single category. Typical of Iroquois, Omaha, and Crow terminologies.

bilateral - related through relatives of either sex.

bride wealth- an payment from the groom to the bride's family as a requirement of the marriage agreement. Also known as bride price.

canon degree (also know as Germanic degreeeee)- a system of calculating kinship distance as the maximum number of linkages from either of two relatives to their most recent common ancestor.

circulating connubium- the circle of marital exchanges among lineages interrelated through a cross cousin marriage system.

civil degree (also know as Roman degree)- a system of calculating kinship distance as the sum of the linkages between two relatives through their most recent common ancestor.

clan- a unilineal descent group whose members do not trace genealogical links to a known founding ancestor.

cognatic- related through linking relatives of any sex, non-unilineal.

collateral degree- a system of calculating kinship distance as the minimum number of linkages from either of two relatives to their most recent common ancestor.

collateral relatives- kin other than the direct ancestors or descendants of a particular Ego.

consanguineal- related through birth.

corporate group- a group which stands as a legal entity in itself and is assigned collective rights on behalf of its members and their estates.

cross cousins - children of opposite sexed siblings (of a brother and sister).

cross relatives- kin who are neither patrilineally nor matrilineally related.

Crow terminology- a system of kin terms which groups relatives together on the basis of matrilineal descent.

dowry- a quantity of wealth allocated to a bride (and her husband and children) from her natal family.

dual descent - an arrangement whereby ego is a member of two separate and distinct groups- a matrilineal group through his mother and patrilineal group through is father.

Ego- the individual who forms the central reference point in a kinship diagram.

Egocentric- a network defined by the relationship of participants to a single individual at its center.

endogamy- inmarriage, marriage to an individual within a defined social group, category, or range.

Eskimo terminology- a system of kin terms which groups relatives together on the basis of collateral degree; a collateral merging system.

exogamy- outmarriage, marriage to an individual outside of a defined social group, category, or range.

fictive kinship-the assignment of kinship status to someone who is not related by descent or marriage.

Hawaiian terminology- a system of kin terms which groups relatives together on the sole basis of generation; a generational system.

Iroquois terminology - a system of kin terms which groups relatives together on the basis of relation through the mother or father; a bifurcate merging system.

kin term- a category the groups together a set of unique kinship relationships, or kin types.

kin type- a unique, uncategorized kinship relationship.

kindred- an individual's extended bilateral network of relatives trace through both parents and their kin of either sex.

kinship- principle of organizing individuals into social groups, roles, and categories based on parentage and marriage.

levirate- a rule requiring the marriage between a man's widow and his surviving brother.

lineage- a unilineal descent group whose members trace their descent from a common ancestor through an acknowledged sequence of known linking antecedents.

lineal relatives- either the direct ancestors or descendants of a particular Ego.

matrifocal- a residential arrangement in which a woman lives with and her children and sometimes her daughter's children, without coresident husbands or other adult men.

matrilateral- related through a mother, mother's side.

matrilineal (uterine)- related by tracing common descent exclusively through females from a founding female ancestor.

matrilocal- residence form determined by a rule that, upon marriage a woman remains in her mother's household while her husband leaves his family to move in with her.

moiety- a descent group which is part of a system of paired units.

natalocal- remaining resident in a household of birth.

neolocal- residence form determined by a rule that each spouse leaves his or her family of origin and jointly forms a new household.

nuclear family- a family consisting of two parents and their unmarried children.

Omaha terminology- a system of kinterms which groups relatives together on the basis of patrilineal descent.

parallel cousins- children of same sexed siblings (of two brothers or two sisters).

partible inheritance- an inheritance system which subdivides a persons property among all his/her children.

patrilateral- related through a father, father's side.

patrilineal (agnatic)- related by tracing common descent exclusively through males from a founding male ancestor.

patrilocal- residence form determined by a rule that, upon marriage, a man remains in his father's household while his wife leaves her family to move in with him.

polyandry- marriage of a woman to more than one man.

polygamy- marriage of a person to more than one spouse.

polygyny- marriage of a man to more than one woman.

primogeniture- a system of inheritance in which a persons property passes exclusively to the eldest (or otherwise most senior) son.

ramage- an ambilineal lineage.

segmentation- the division of a descent group or household into two or more independent units.

social structure- the system of formal rules, societal roles, and behavioural norms that constitutes an essential aspect of social organization.

social organization- the regularly anticipated and repeated patterns of behavior that are widely observable in social interactions.

stem family- a family formed when only one child (usually a son> remains resident with his/her parents and the others set up new households. The child who remains normally becomes the sole heir to family property.

stock- a bilateral descent group composed of all the descendants of a single ancestor.

Sudanese terminology- a system of kin terms which assigns a unique category to each kin type; a bifurcate collateral system.

unilineal- related exclusively through relatives of one sex, beginning with a father or mother.

uterine- see matrilineal.

uxorilocal- residence rule that, upon marriage a man moves to his his wife's household.

virilocal- residence rule that, upon marriage a women moves to her husband's household.