Sibling
/ˈsɪb.lɪŋ/noun
A brother or sister; a person having one or both parents in common with another person.
Did you know?Sibling is one of the few common English family words that survived from Old English, where it referred to kinship through a shared parent rather than a mystical or ritual concept.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sibjō
“kinship; relation by blood or marriage”
Old English
OE
sibb
“kinship, peace, relationship”
Old English
OE
-ling
“a person or thing associated with or characterized by”
Middle English
ME
sibling
“a relative; later, specifically a brother or sister”
Modern English
English
sibling
“a brother or sister”