Akin
adjectiveSimilar in character or nature, or related by family.
How to spell akin
4 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce akin
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does akin mean?
- adjectiveSimilar in character or nature, or related by family.
Akin in a sentence
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The new software felt akin to the version she had used for years.
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His careful handwriting was akin to that of a draughtsman.
Where does akin come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Akin is a contraction of the older phrase 'of kin', meaning 'of the same family'. The first element is a worn-down form of the preposition 'of', and the second is the native English word 'kin', which goes back to Old English 'cynn' meaning 'family', 'race', or 'kind'. That same Germanic root also gave English 'kindred' and the word 'kind' itself, since people of the same kin were of the same kind. The fused spelling 'akin' appears in writing from the 1500s, originally describing blood relatives but soon broadening to mean simply 'similar in nature'. Because the word began as two separate words pressed together, it is spelled with a single k and no hyphen, which catches people who expect 'a kin' or 'aking'.
How the word is built
- a- (reduced form of the preposition 'of')
- kin (family, relatives)
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