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son-in-law

UK/ˈsʌnɪnˌlɔː/US/ˈsʌnɪnˌlɔː/
nounB2neutral

A son-in-law is the husband of your daughter. Get on with your son-in-law.

The plural is sons-in-law, which is the part everybody gets wrong. A son-in-law was historically expected to take on obligations as well as a wife.

Definitions of son-in-law

  1. 1nounson-in-lawThe husband of your daughter.B2

    “The son-in-law did all the driving for twenty years.”

son-in-law is a relative.

Where it comes from

Son plus in-law, meaning related through canon law rather than by birth.

  1. Middle English

    sone in lawe

  2. English, today

    son-in-law

From Middle English sone in lawe; equivalent to son + in-law.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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Related words

  • son