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English
Etymology From Middle English brother-in-lawe brother -in-law
Pronunciation
Noun brother -in-law plural brothers-in-law or ( archaic ) brethren-in-law or ( colloquial, nonstandard ) brother-in-laws
A male relative of one's generation , separated by one degree of marriage :
The brother of one's spouse .
The husband of one's sibling .
( uncommon ) Co-brother-in-law : A male relative of one's generation, separated by two degrees of marriage:
The husband of the sibling of one's spouse .
2009 Kettle, Thomas Michael (‘Tom’) ”, in Dictionary of Irish Biography , Cambridge University Press:He was appalled by trench conditions and the prolongation of the war, a disillusionment further encouraged by the Easter rising, in which his brother-in-law , Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (qv), was murdered by a deranged Anglo–Irish officer, J. C. Bowen-Colthurst (qv).
The brother of the spouse of one's sibling .
Quotations c. 1597 The First Part of Henry the Fourth, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed , published 1623 , →OCLC We at our own charge shall ransom straightbrother-in-law , the foolish Mortimer;
Hypernyms
Derived terms
Translations brother of one's husband
Afrikaans: swaer
Albanian: kunat (sq) m
Arabic: شَقِيق زَوْج m ( šaqīq zawj ) ( husband ) , شَقِيق زَوْجَة m ( šaqīq zawja ) ( wife ) , سِلْف m ( silf )
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܝܼܕ݂ܡܵܐ ( īḏmā )
Armenian: տագր (hy) ( tagr )
Aromanian: cumnat m
Asturian: cuñáu (ast) m
Azerbaijani: qayın (az)
Bengali: দেবর (bn) ( debor )
Bikol Central: bayaw (bcl)
Bulgarian: девер (bg) m ( dever )
Burmese: ခဲအို (my) ( hkai:ui ) , မတ် (my) ( mat )
Catalan: cunyat (ca) m
Cebuano: bayaw bayaw nga lalaki
Chinese:
Cantonese: 大伯 ( daai6 baak3 ) ( older brother ) , 叔仔 ( suk1 zai2 ) ( younger brother )
Hokkien: 大伯 (zh-min-nan) ( tōa-peh ) ( older brother ) , 阿叔仔 (zh-min-nan) ( a-chek-á ) ( younger brother ) , 小叔 ( sió-chek ) ( younger brother ) , 細叔 / 细叔 ( sè-chek, sòe-chek ) ( younger brother ) , 細叔仔 / 细叔仔 ( sè-chek-á, sòe-chek-á ) ( younger brother ) , 細漢叔仔 / 细汉叔仔 ( sè-hàn-chek-á, sòe-hàn-chek-á ) ( younger brother )
Mandarin: 大伯子 (zh) ( dàbǎizi ) ( elder brother ) , 小叔子 (zh) ( xiǎoshūzi ) ( younger brother )
Chuvash: хунчӑкам ( hunč̬ăk̬am )
Czech: švagr (cs) m
Dalmatian: comnut m
Danish: svoger (da) c
Dutch: zwager (nl) m ( Netherlands ) , schoonbroer (nl) m ( Flanders )
Erzya: парайде ( parajďe ) ( younger ) , альне ( aľńe ) , какжаля ( kakžaľa ) ( older )
Esperanto: bofrato (eo)
Estonian: küdi (et)
Ewe: nyo
Finnish: lanko (fi) , kyty (fi) ( archaic )
French: beau-frère (fr) m
Friulian: cugnât m
Galician: cuñado m
Georgian: მაზლი ( mazli )
German: Schwager (de) m Schwäher (de) m ( obsolete )
Greek: κουνιάδος (el) m ( kouniádos )
Ancient: δαήρ m ( daḗr )
Greenlandic: ningaaq
Hebrew: גִּיס (he) m ( gís ) , יָבָם (he) m ( yavám ) ( esp. if husband died childless )
Hindi: देवर (hi) ( devar ) ( younger brother ) , जेठ (hi) ( jeṭh ) ( older brother )
Hungarian: sógor (hu)
Icelandic: mágur (is) m
Ido: bofratulo (io)
Ilocano: bayaw kayong
Ingrian: kyty
Irish: deartháir céile m
Italian: cognato (it) m
Japanese: 義理 の 兄 ( ぎり のあに , giri no ani) , 義兄 ( ぎけい, gikei ) ( elder brother ) ; 義理 の 弟 ( ぎり のおとうと , giri no otōto) , 義弟 ( ぎてい, gitei ) ( younger brother ) ; 義兄弟 ( ぎきょうだい, gikyōdai ) ( elder and younger brothers ) ; (お)義兄さん ( (お)にいさん, (o-)niisan ) ( elder brother ) ( colloquial ) ; 小舅 ( こじゅうと, kojūto ) ( elder or younger brother )
Kashmiri: درُٛے
Korean: ( elder ) 시숙(媤叔) (ko) ( sisuk ) , 시(媤)아주버니 (ko) ( siajubeoni ) , ( younger ) 시동생(媤同生) (ko) ( sidongsaeng )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ھێوەر ( hêwer )
Northern Kurdish: tî (ku) m
Latgalian: dīvers
Latin: lēvir m
Latvian: dieveris (lv) m
Lithuanian: dieveris m
Macedonian: девер m ( dever )
Malay: abang ipar ( elder ) , adik ipar lelaki ( younger ) , ipar lelaki adik ipar ( younger ) , ipar
Maltese: silf
Maori: taokete ( of a male ) , autāne ( of a female )
Maranao: ipag
Middle English: brother-in-lawe
Mwani: nlamu
Nanai: кэли ( keli )
Norman: bieau-fréthe m ( Jersey )
Northern Sami: máhka
Norwegian:
Bokmål: svoger (no) m
Nynorsk: svoger m verbror m
Occitan: conhat (oc) , cunhat (oc) m
Old English: tācor m
Pashto: لېور (ps) m
Pennsylvania German: Schwoger m
Persian: هیور ( hivar ) ( dialectal )
Polish: szwagier (pl) m pers dziewierz (pl) m pers ( obsolete )
Portuguese: cunhado (pt) m
Romani: salo m
Romanian: cumnat (ro) m
Russian: де́верь (ru) m ( déverʹ )
Sanskrit: देवृ (sa) m ( devṛ ) , देवर (sa) m ( devara )
Sardinian: connadu m connatu m connau m
Scots: guid-brither
Scottish Gaelic: bràthair-cèile m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: де̏вер m
Roman: dȅver (sh) m
Sicilian: cugnatu m
Slovene: svák (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: bratš cłowjeka m swak m ( literary ) , šwogor m ( colloquial )
Spanish: cuñado (es) m
Swedish: svåger (sv) c svärbror
Tagalog: ( literally ) bayaw (tl) m
Taos: pʼǫ́yna ( younger ) , pòpóna ( older )
Tarifit: arwes m
Turkish: kayın (tr)
Ukrainian: ді́вер (uk) m ( díver )
Urdu: دیوَر m ( devar ) ( younger ) , جیٹھ m ( jeṭh ) ( older )
Venetan: cugnà m cugnado m cognà (vec) m cognado m
Vietnamese: anh chồng ( older than husband ) , em chồng ( younger than husband )
Vilamovian: śwöger m
Welsh: brawd yng nghyfraith (cy) m
Zazaki: vıstewre (diq)
brother of one's wife
Afrikaans: swaer
Albanian: kunat (sq) m
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܒܲܪܚܡܵܝܵܐ ( barḥmāyā )
Armenian: աներձագ (hy) ( anerjag ) , աներորդի (hy) ( anerordi )
Asturian: cuñáu (ast) m
Azerbaijani: qayın (az)
Bengali: শালা (bn) ( śala ) , শ্যালক (bn) ( śêlok )
Bhojpuri: साला ( sālā )
Bikol Central: bayaw (bcl)
Bulgarian: шурей (bg) m ( šurej )
Burmese: ယောက်ဖ (my) ( yaukhpa. )
Catalan: cunyat (ca) m
Cebuano: bayaw bayaw nga lalaki (sa asawa)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 大舅 (yue) ( daai6 kau3 ) ( wife's older brother ) , 舅仔 (yue) ( kau3 zai2 ) ( wife's younger brother )
Hokkien: 妻舅 ( chhe-kū ) , 舅仔 ( kū-á ) , 大舅 ( tōa-kū ) ( wife's older brother ) , 某舅 ( bó͘-kū ) , 妻舅仔 ( chhe-kū-á )
Mandarin: 内兄 (zh) ( nèixiōng ) 大舅子 (zh) ( dàjiùzi ) ( older brother ) ; 内弟 (zh) ( nèidì ) ( younger brother ) , 婦兄 / 妇兄 (zh) ( fùxiōng ) ( wife's older brother ) , 小舅子 (zh) ( xiǎojiùzi ) ( wife's younger brother ) , 大舅 (zh) ( dàjiù ) ( wife's older brother ) , 小舅 ( xiǎojiù ) ( wife's younger brother ) , 婦弟 / 妇弟 (zh) ( fùdì ) ( wife's younger brother )
Czech: švagr (cs) m
Danish: svoger (da) c
Dutch: zwager (nl) m ( Netherlands ) , schoonbroer (nl) m ( Flanders )
Esperanto: bofrato (eo)
Estonian: nääl (et)
Ewe: nyo
Finnish: lanko (fi)
French: beau-frère (fr) m
Galician: cuñado m
Georgian: ცოლისძმა ( colisʒma )
German: Schwager (de) m Schwäher (de) m ( obsolete )
Greek: κουνιάδος (el) m ( kouniádos )
Greenlandic: ningaaq
Hebrew: גִּיס (he) m ( gís )
Hindi: साला (hi) ( sālā )
Hungarian: sógor (hu)
Icelandic: mágur (is) m
Ido: bofratulo (io)
Ilocano: bayaw kayong
Ingrian: näälä
Irish: deartháir céile m
Japanese: 義理 の 兄 ( ぎり のあに , giri no ani) , 義兄 ( ぎけい, gikei ) ( wife's elder brother ) ; 義理 の 弟 ( ぎり のおとうと , giri no otōto) , 義弟 ( ぎてい, gitei ) ( wife's younger brother ) ; 義兄弟 ( ぎきょうだい, gikyōdai ) ( wife's elder and younger brothers ) ; (お)義兄さん ( (お)にいさん, (o-)niisan ) ( wife's elder brother ) ( colloquial ) ; 小舅 ( こじゅうと, kojūto ) ( wife's elder or younger brother )
Kashmiri: ۂہَر ( hạhar )
Korean: 처남(妻男) (ko) ( cheonam )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ژِنبِرا ( jinbira )
Northern Kurdish: bûra (ku) m
Latgalian: svaiņs ?
Latvian: svainis (lv) m
Lithuanian: svainis ?
Macedonian: шура (mk) m ( šura )
Malay: abang ipar ( elder ) , adik ipar lelaki ( younger ) , ipar lelaki adik ipar ( younger ) , ipar
Middle English: brother-in-lawe
Mwani: nlamu
Norman: bieau-fréthe m ( Jersey )
Northern Sami: máhka
Norwegian:
Bokmål: svoger (no) m
Nynorsk: svoger m verbror m
Occitan: conhat (oc) , cunhat (oc) m
Old Czech: deveř m
Pashto: اخښی (ps) m
Pennsylvania German: Schwoger m
Polish: szwagier (pl) m pers szurzy (pl) m ( arhaic or dialectal )
Portuguese: cunhado (pt) m
Romani: salo m
Russian: шу́рин (ru) m ( šúrin )
Sanskrit: स्याल (sa) m ( syāla )
Scots: guid-brither
Scottish Gaelic: bràthair-cèile m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: шурак m шу̑ра m
Roman: šurak (sh) m šȗra (sh) m
Slovene: svák (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: bratš žeński m swak m ( literary ) , šwogor m ( colloquial )
Spanish: cuñado (es) m
Swedish: svåger (sv) c
Tagalog: bayaw (tl) m ( literally )
Taos: mą̀kupòpóna ( elder ) , pʼǫ́yna ( younger ) , pòpóna ( older )
Tarifit: arwes m
Turkish: kayınço (tr) , kayınbirader (tr)
Udi: севичи ( seviči )
Ukrainian: шу́рин m ( šúryn )
Urdu: سالا m ( sālā )
Vietnamese: anh vợ ( older than wife ) , em vợ ( younger than wife )
Welsh: brawd yng nghyfraith (cy) m
husband of one's sister
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܚܸܬ݂ܢܵܐ ( ḥiṯnā )
Armenian: փեսա (hy) ( pʻesa ) , քեռայր (hy) ( kʻeṙayr )
Asturian: cuñáu (ast) m
Azerbaijani: yeznə (az)
Bikol Central: bayaw (bcl)
Bulgarian: зет (bg) m ( zet )
Burmese: ခဲအို (my) ( hkai:ui ) , မတ် (my) ( mat ) , ယောက်ဖ (my) ( yaukhpa. )
Catalan: cunyat (ca) m
Cebuano: bayaw bayaw nga lalaki
Chinese:
Cantonese: 姐夫 ( ze2 fu1 ) ( older sister's husband ) , 妹夫 ( mui6 fu1 ) ( younger sister's husband )
Hokkien: 姊夫 ( chí-po͘, chí-hu ) ( older sister's husband ) , 姊丈 ( chí-tiǔⁿ ) ( older sister's husband ) , 妹婿 ( bēr-saì, bē-saì, maī-saì, mōe-saì ) ( younger sister's husband )
Mandarin: 姐夫 (zh) ( jiěfu ) ( older sister's husband ) , 妹夫 (zh) ( mèifu ) ( younger sister's husband ) , 姊夫 (zh) ( zǐfū ) ( older sister's husband ) , 姊丈 (zh) ( zǐzhàng ) ( older sister's husband ) , 妹倩 (zh) ( mèiqiàn ) ( younger sister's husband ) , 妹婿 (zh) ( mèixù ) ( younger sister's husband ) , 妹丈 (zh) ( mèizhàng ) ( younger sister's husband )
Czech: švagr (cs) m
Danish: svoger (da) c
Dutch: zwager (nl) m ( Netherlands ) , schoonbroer (nl) m ( Flanders )
Erzya: шичаля ( šičaľa ) ( younger sister's husband ) , эзналя ( eznaľa ) ( older sister's brother )
Esperanto: bofrato (eo)
Estonian: õemees (et)
Ewe: nyo
Finnish: lanko (fi)
French: beau-frère (fr) m
Galician: cuñado m
Georgian: სიძე ( siʒe )
German: Schwager (de) m Schwäher (de) m ( obsolete )
Greek: γαμπρός (el) m ( gamprós )
Greenlandic: ningaaq
Hebrew: גִּיס (he) m ( gís )
Hindi: जीजा (hi) m ( jījā ) ( elder sister ) , बहनोई (hi) m ( bahnoī ) ( younger sister )
Hungarian: sógor (hu)
Icelandic: mágur (is) m
Ido: bofratulo (io)
Ilocano: bayaw kayong
Ingrian: vävy
Irish: deartháir céile m
Japanese: 義理 の 兄 ( ぎり のあに , giri no ani) , 義兄 ( ぎけい, gikei ) ( elder sister's husband ) ; 義理 の 弟 ( ぎり のおとうと , giri no otōto) , 義弟 ( ぎてい, gitei ) ( younger sister's husband ) ; 義兄弟 ( ぎきょうだい, gikyōdai ) ( elder or younger sister's husband ) ; (お)義兄さん ( (お)にいさん, (o-)niisan ) ( elder sister's husband ) ( colloquial )
Kashmiri: بیمہٕ ( bēmụ )
Korean: 매부(妹夫) (ko) ( maebu ) ( man's ) , 형부(兄夫) (ko) ( hyeongbu ) ( woman's elder's ) , 제부(弟夫) ( jebu ) ( woman's younger's )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: زاوا ( zawa )
Latin: sororius
Latvian: svainis (lv) m
Macedonian: зет m ( zet )
Malay: abang ipar ( elder ) , adik ipar lelaki ( younger ) , ipar lelaki adik ipar ( younger ) , ipar
Mari:
Eastern Mari: веҥе ( veŋe )
Middle English: brother-in-lawe
Navajo: hayé
Norman: bieau-fréthe m ( Jersey )
Northern Sami: máhka
Norwegian:
Bokmål: svoger (no) m
Nynorsk: svoger m verbror m
Ottoman Turkish: انشته ( enişte )
Pashto: اخښي m اوښی m
Pennsylvania German: Schwoger m
Polish: szwagier (pl) m pers
Portuguese: cunhado (pt) m
Punjabi: ਭਣਵਈਆ m ( bhaṇvaīā ) , ਭਣੂਜਾ m ( bhaṇūjā )
Romanian: cumnat (ro) m
Russian: зять (ru) m ( zjatʹ )
Sanskrit: जामातृ (sa) m ( jāmātṛ ) , आबुत्त (sa) m ( ābutta )
Scots: guid-brither
Scottish Gaelic: bràthair-cèile m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: зе̏т m сва̑к) m шо̑гор m
Roman: zȅt (sh) m svȃk (sh) m šȏgor (sh) m
Slovene: svák (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: sotśiny muski m swak m ( literary ) , šwogor m ( colloquial )
Spanish: cuñado (es) m
Swedish: svåger (sv) c
Tagalog: siyaho ( elder sister's husband ) , bayaw (tl)
Taos: mą̀kupòpóna ( from younger sister's marriage ) , pʼǫ́yna ( younger ) , pòpóna ( older )
Telugu: బావ (te) ( bāva )
Turkish: enişte (tr)
Vietnamese: anh rể
Welsh: brawd yng nghyfraith (cy) m
Zazaki: ênışte zama (diq) m
husband of the sister of one's husband
Armenian: փեսա (hy) ( pʻesa ) , բաջանաղ (hy) ( baǰanaġ )
Asturian: cuñáu (ast) m concuñáu (ast) m
Bikol Central: bilas (bcl)
Bulgarian: зет (bg) m ( zet ) , зълвеник m ( zǎlvenik )
Cebuano: bilas bilas nga lalaki (sa igsoong babaye sa bana)
Danish: svoger (da) c
Dutch: zwager (nl) m ( Netherlands ) , schoonbroer (nl) m ( Flanders )
Esperanto: bofrato (eo)
Finnish: lanko (fi)
French: beau-frère (fr) m
German: Schwippschwager (de) m
Hebrew: גִּיס (he) m ( gís )
Hindi: जीजा (hi) m ( jījā ) ( elder sister ) , बहनोई (hi) m ( bahnoī ) ( younger sister )
Icelandic: svili (is) m
Ilocano: abirat a lalaki
Japanese: 義理 の 兄 ( ぎり のあに , giri no ani) , 義兄 ( ぎけい, gikei ) ( husband's elder sister's husband ) ; 義理 の 弟 ( ぎり のおとうと , giri no otōto) , 義弟 ( ぎてい, gitei ) ( husband's younger sister's husband ) ; 義兄弟 ( ぎきょうだい, gikyōdai ) ( husband's elder or younger sister's husband )
Kashmiri: زٲمی ( zạ̄mī ) , زٲمِیہِ ( zạ̄miyi )
Korean: 시(媤)누 남편(男便) ( sinu nampyeon ) , 시매부(媤妹夫) ( simaebu )
Malay: biras (ms) , abang ipar ( elder ) , adik ipar lelaki ( younger ) , ipar lelaki adik ipar ( younger ) , ipar
Norman: bieau-fréthe m ( Jersey )
Polish: szwagier (pl) m pers
Portuguese: concunhado (pt) m cunhado (pt) m
Romanian: cumnat (ro) m
Russian: зять (ru) m ( zjatʹ )
Scots: guid-brither
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: сва̑к) m
Roman: svȃk (sh) m
Spanish: concuñado (es) m
Tagalog: bilas na lalaki
Turkish: enişte (tr)
Zazaki: cêri
husband of the sister of one's wife
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܝܲܓ݂ܝܼܣܵܐ ( yaḡīsā )
Asturian: cuñáu (ast) m concuñáu (ast) m
Armenian: քենակալ (hy) ( kʻenakal ) , բաջանաղ (hy) ( baǰanaġ )
Azerbaijani: bacanaq (az)
Bashkir: бажа ( baja )
Bats: ბა̄ჯ ( bāǯ )
Bikol Central: bilas (bcl)
Bulgarian: баджанак (bg) m ( badžanak )
Cebuano: bilas bilas nga lalaki
Chechen: бажа ( baža )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 姨夫 (zh) ( yífū ) , 襟兄 (zh) ( jīnxiōng ) ( wife's older sister's husband ) , 襟弟 (zh) ( jīndì ) ( wife's younger sister's husband )
Danish: svoger (da) c
Dutch: zwager (nl) m ( Netherlands ) , schoonbroer (nl) m ( Flanders )
Esperanto: bofrato (eo)
Estonian: kälimees
Finnish: lanko (fi)
French: beau-frère (fr) m
Georgian: ქვისლი ( kvisli )
German: Schwippschwager (de) m
Greek: μπατζανάκης (el) m ( batzanákis )
Hebrew: גִּיס (he) m ( gís )
Hindi: साढ़ू (hi) m ( sāṛhū )
Icelandic: svili (is) m
Ilocano: abirat a lalaki
Ingrian: svojakka
Ingush: бажа ( baža )
Japanese: 義理 の 兄 ( ぎり のあに , giri no ani) , 義兄 ( ぎけい, gikei ) ( wife's elder sister's husband ) ; 義理 の 弟 ( ぎり のおとうと , giri no otōto) , 義弟 ( ぎてい, gitei ) ( wife's younger sister's husband ) ; 義兄弟 ( ぎきょうだい, gikyōdai ) ( wife's elder or younger sister's husband )
Kashmiri: سٲجُو ( sạ̄juv )
Korean: 동서(同壻) (ko) ( dongseo )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئاواڵزاوا ( awallzawa )
Northern Kurdish: hevling (ku) m hevzava (ku) m
Macedonian: баџанак m ( badžanak ) , баџо m ( badžo )
Malay: biras (ms) , abang ipar ( elder ) , adik ipar lelaki ( younger ) , ipar lelaki adik ipar ( younger ) , ipar
Mingrelian: ქვიშილი ( kvišili )
Norman: bieau-fréthe m ( Jersey )
Northern Sami: spile
Pashto: باجه (ps) m سانډو m
Polish: szwagier (pl) m pers
Portuguese: concunhado (pt) m cunhado (pt) m
Romanian: cumnat (ro) m
Russian: своя́к (ru) m ( svoják )
Scots: guid-brither
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: пашѐног m пашенац m сва̑к) m ба́џо m
Roman: pašènog (sh) m pašánac (sh) m svȃk (sh) m bádžo (sh) m
Spanish: concuñado (es) m
Svan: მექუ̂შე̄ლ ( mekûšēl )
Tagalog: bilas na lalaki
Turkish: bacanak (tr)
Tuvan: бажа ( baja )
Urdu: ہَم زُلْف m ( ham zulf ) , ساڑُھو m ( sāṛhū )
Uyghur: باجا ( baja )
Zazaki: bacenağ
Translations to be checked
References “brother-in-law ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary G. & C. Merriam , 1913 , →OCLC “brother-in-law ”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged , Dictionary.com, LLC , 1995–present. "brother-in-law" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)
