extended family
Beyond immediate household
Extended family includes relatives beyond the immediate household—grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws.
The term distinguishes this broader network from the nuclear family of parents and children: Three generations of extended family gathered for the reunion.
In many cultures, extended family members share households or child-rearing responsibilities.
Relatives through shared grandparents
- unclesParents' male siblings
- auntsParents' female siblings
- nephewsSiblings' sons
- niecesSiblings' female children
grandparents · grandchildren · in-laws · great-aunts · great-uncles · second cousins · great-grandparents · step-siblings
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
roots · forebears · descent · pedigree · legacy · inheritance · progenitors · dynasty
Domestic unit of residents
- patriarchyMale-dominated social order
- matriarchyFemale-dominated social system
- compoundCombined into one
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
Attending to dependents
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- childcareSupervision of young ones
- eldercareSupport for the aged
- companionshipState of having company
guidance · babysitting · holiday gatherings · emotional support · advice · shared housing · multigenerational living · hand-me-downs
cousins
Relatives through shared grandparents
nieces · grandparents · grandchildren · in-laws · great-aunts · great-uncles · second cousins · great-grandparents · step-siblings · half-siblings
genealogy
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
bloodline · roots · forebears · descent · pedigree · legacy · inheritance · progenitors · dynasty · origin
household
Domestic unit of residents
- patriarchyMale-dominated social order
- matriarchyFemale-dominated social system
- compoundCombined into one
caregiving
Attending to dependents
companionship · guidance · babysitting · holiday gatherings · emotional support · advice · shared housing · multigenerational living · hand-me-downs · reunions
- communitiesgated community, retirement community, neighbors, cohousing, village
- Family Mattersgenealogy, ancestry, heirlooms, traditions, surnames
- family structuresstepfamily, single parent, married couple, multigenerational, childless couple
- village lifevillage, hamlet, thatched roofs, chalet, folk tales
- kinship systemsclan, tribe, lineage, dynasty, household
- Clan & Kinshipkinship, lineage, ancestry, bloodlines, blood ties
extended familynuclear family
Parents plus their offspring
immediate family · single-parent family · childless couple · married couple
family, extend, extent, extension, extensive, extended, familial, extending, extensively