A cousin is a term in genealogy. A cousin is not a direct ancestor or descendant, but is a relative who shares a common ancestor. The word 'cousin' is often used to mean a person's first cousin – the child of someone's aunt or uncle.
Cousin relationships can have degree and removal (e.g. a second cousin once removed is a cousin with a degree of two and a removal of one).
If the relative's → | Grandparent (2) | Great-grandparent (3) | Great-great-grandparent (4) | R generations to common ancestor | |
Is the subject's ↓ |
Then the relative is the subject's ↘ | ||||
Grandparent (2) | 1st cousin | 1st cousin once removed | 1st cousin twice removed | 1st cousin |R-2| times removed | |
Great-grandparent (3) | 1st cousin once removed | 2nd cousin | 2nd cousin once removed | 2nd cousin |R-3| times removed | |
Great-great-grandparent (4) | 1st cousin twice removed | 2nd cousin once removed | 3rd cousin | 3rd cousin |R-4| times removed | |
S generations to common ancestor | 1st cousin |S-2| times removed | 2nd cousin |S-3| times removed | 3rd cousin |S-4| times removed | (min{R,S} - 1) th cousin |R-S| times removed |