agnate

A1G2N1A1T1E1
/ˈæɡneɪt/

noun

A relative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family.

“A great-grandfather is an agnate if he is your father’s father’s father.”

Similar
Opposite
Scrabble 7

Meanings

nounagnate (plural agnates)

plural agnates

  1. A relative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family.

    A great-grandfather is an agnate if he is your father’s father’s father.

    1 more example

    Men accuse agnates of their own generation of bewitching them.

    2013, John Middleton, E. H. Winter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, page 203
  2. Any paternal male relative.
  3. human sciencesA statement having a similar meaning to another, but a different structure.
adjectiveagnate (comparative more agnate, superlative most agnate)

comparative more agnate · superlative most agnate

  1. Related to someone by male connections or on the paternal side of the family.
  2. allied; akin

    Assume more or less of a fictitious character, but congenial and agnate […] with the former.

    1829, Walter Savage Landor, “Florentine, English Visitor, and Landor”, in Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen, volume V (second series, volume II), London: James Duncan, […], →OCLC
  3. human sciencesHaving a similar semantic meaning.

    [...] we can talk about a swim, a drink, a look, even though swim, drink and look can also show up as verbs in agnate clauses.

    2013, Thomas Bloor, Meriel Bloor, The Functional Analysis of English

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

adjectiverelated on the father's side

nounone related on the father's side

Similar
patrikinpatrilineal kinpatrisibpatrilineal sib

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵn̥h₁tós
  7. Proto-Italic*gnātos
  8. Latingnātus
  9. Latinagnātu
  10. Englishagnate

Learned borrowing from Latin agnātus (“paternal kinsman”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan agnat
  • agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Czech agnát, příbuzný z otcovy strany
  • agnátrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • příbuzný z otcovy stranyrelated by male connections
Danish agnat
  • agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Esperanto agnato
  • agnatorelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Finnish mieslinjainen sukulainen, agnaatti
  • mieslinjainen sukulainenrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • agnaattirelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • mieslinjainenrelated by male connections
French agnat
  • agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
German Agnat
  • Agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Italian agnato
  • agnatorelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Polish agnat, agnatka
  • agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • agnatkarelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • agnackirelated by male connections
Portuguese agnato
  • agnatorelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
Russian агна́т, единокро́вный
  • агна́т (agnát)relative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • единокро́вный (jedinokróvnyj)related by male connections
Spanish agnado, agnado
  • agnadorelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family
  • agnadorelated by male connections
Swedish agnat
  • agnatrelative whose relation is traced only through male members of the family

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with agnate

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

agnate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnate

MLA

“agnate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agnate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnate.

Source: agnate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.