sibness

S1I1B3N1E1S1S1
/ˈsɪbnəs/

noun

Kinship.

OriginScots sibness ← Middle Scots sibnes ← West Midland Middle English sibnesse →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounsibness (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountableKinship.

    Sibness to snakes

    1926, Hugh MacDiarmid, A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle
    1 more example

    […] and bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh, by virtue of the natural sibness between him and you; […]

    1821, Ralph Erskine, The Sermons, and Other Practical Works, volume 5, page 414

Origin

  1. Anglian Old Englishġesibness
  2. West Midland Middle Englishsibnesse
  3. Middle Scotssibnes
  4. Scotssibness
  5. Englishsibness

Probably borrowed from Scots sibness, from Middle Scots sibnes, perhaps from West Midland Middle English sibnesse, perhaps itself from Anglian Old English ġesibness; compare West Frisian sibbens. By surface analysis, sib + ness.

More words from Scots, Middle Scots, West Midland Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sibness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sibness

MLA

“sibness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sibness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sibness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sibness.

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