Consanguineous
/ˌkɒn.sæŋ.ɡwɪˈniː.əs/noun
Related by blood; descended from the same ancestor.
Did you know?In Roman and later legal Latin, consanguineus specifically marked people tied by shared blood, a reminder that kinship was once treated as a biological force, not just a social one.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sēngʷʰ-
“to bleed; blood”
Latin
Latin
sanguis
“blood”
Classical Latin
Latin
consanguineus
“of the same blood; blood relative”
Old French
Old French
consanguin
“related by blood”
Middle English
English
consanguineous
“blood-related, akin by descent”
Modern English
English
consanguineous
“related by blood”
Explore more surprising origins