Curated category
Kinship and descent
- MarriageThe word marriage appeared around 1300, borrowed from Old French and ultimately tracing to the Latin term for married. Anthropologists have proposed several…
- ChildIn 1989, the United Nations adopted a convention that defined a child as any human being below the age of 18 years. This document was ratified by 192 out of…
- SiblingThe word sibling was reintroduced in 1903 in an article published by the journal Biometrika. This specific term had not been used since Middle English…
- Civil unionOn the 7th of June 1989, Denmark passed a law creating the world's first civil union. This legislation came into effect on the 1st of October 1989 and…
- Race (human categorization)In 1684, François Bernier published a text titled Nouvelle division de la terre par les différents espèces ou races qui l'habitant.
- SisterThe English word sister comes from Old Norse. This term itself derives from Proto-Germanic *swestēr. Both ancient forms share the same meaning as the modern…
- Affinity (law)Affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It describes the connection each party in…
- KinshipIn 1871, Lewis Henry Morgan published Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family. This work became a foundational text for anthropologists…