cousin-german

noun

"cousin-german" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cousin-german” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A first cousin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cousin-german · cousin-german · English

cousin-german · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for cousin-german
PropertyValue
Headwordcousin-german
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cousin-german” in English

cousin-germanranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cousin-german is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for cousin-german in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cosin germain, from Anglo-Norman cosin germain, cosine germaine. See also Middle English cosin, germain. The correct English form is cousin-german, spelled C-O-U-S-I-N---G-E-R-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A first cousin.
  2. 2
    Something closely related.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cousin-german appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This interesting explanation of family connections given by Mrs. Boville occasioned an éclaircissement exceedingly gratifying to Mrs. De Brooke and Rosilia. Doctor Lovesworth, for whom they had mutually, with the whole of their family, felt so great a partiality, was found to be the cousin-german of Mrs. De Brooke.
  2. This propensity to display its blossoms on bare branches the almond shares with several of its kindred; and, as a parallel to Solomon's image, we may refer to its cousin-german the sloe, in our own cold clime so familiar, with its snowy petals […]

Etymology

From Middle English cosin germain, from Anglo-Norman cosin germain, cosine germaine. See also Middle English cosin, germain.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cousin-german"?
"cousin-german" is spelled C-O-U-S-I-N---G-E-R-M-A-N.
What does "cousin-german" mean?
As a noun, "cousin-german" means: A first cousin.
What is the origin of the word "cousin-german"?
From Middle English cosin germain, from Anglo-Norman cosin germain, cosine germaine. See also Middle English cosin, germain. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list