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Wednesday February 24, 2010

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avuncular [uh-VUHNG-kyuh-luhr]

adjective

1. Of or pertaining to an uncle.
2. Resembling a uncle in kindness or indulgence.

• Zhou Wenzhong, China's avuncular ambassador, has visited about 100 senators and representatives in their districts during his four-year-old tenure in Washington. But he said it wasn't simply lobbying and shoe-leather efforts that have helped China's image in Congress.
  John Pomfret, "As China rises, so does its influence on the Hill; Increased lobbying, growing role in U.S. economy yield new warmth from Congress", The Washington Post, Jan 9, 2010
• Katie Couric's got a new leading man. Morgan Freeman has replaced Walter Cronkite as the disembodied voice introducing Couric's "CBS Evening News" broadcast. The change, effective last night, comes nearly six months after Cronkite's death on July 17 at the age of 92. Cronkite's avuncular introduction, which CBS kept even after he died, had been used ever since Couric debuted as the "Evening News" anchor in September 2006.
  Michael Starr, "MORGAN IS CBS VOICE OF CHOICE", New York Post, Jan 5, 2010
• This was finality; the avuncular guardian had waited long enough for his wilful ward to make up her mind as to the selection of a suitable husband; now he determined to take a hand in the matter. And you shall see how well he managed it.
  Harold MacGrath (1871 - 1932) An American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. The Princess Elopes (1905)

Origin of the Word

Avuncular, approximately 1831, derives from Latin avunculus "maternal uncle."