Cousin (Hastings' Dictionary)

This word was formerly used of any near kiii.-nian or kinswoman, except those of the first degree. Shakespeare uses it of a nephew (King John, III. iii. 6), a niece (Tturlflh Night, I. iii. 5), an uncle (I. v. 131), etc. Tlius, As You Like It, I. iii. 44— ' Ro$alind — Me, uncle ? JMJce Frfderick — You, couslo. It U In this older and wider sense that c. is nsed • For Ja 3^ iee Mayor in toe. in To 6» 7»-", 2 Mac ll'", Lk l"". C.

is also applied by a sovereign to one whose rank is the lyime, or is courteously assumed to be the same. In this sense is c. in 1 Es 3' 4" (' thou shalt sit next me, and shalt be called my c.'), 1 Mac 11". The Greek is auryeuT,^, Lk !»>•", 1 Es 3' 4**, To 4", 1 Mac U", 2 Mac 11'- «; d^^f-iit, To V ; and dJeX^it, 7".

The older VSS nearly always have ' cousin ' as AV ; it is only in RV that the change is made into 'kinswoman,' Lk I"; 'kinsfolk,' 1"; 'kins- man,' To 6'», 1 Mac 11", 2 Mac ll'«>; and 'brother,' To 7": while 'cousin' is retained in I Es 3' 4*^ To 7'. On the relationship bet. Elisa- beth and Mary, who are called ' cousins ' in AV, see Plummer on Lk I'', and art. Elisabeth. J. Hastings.