What does kinsmen mean?
Kinsmen is the plural of kinsman and normally refers to male relatives connected by blood or marriage. The expression is more literary and traditional than the plainer relatives, though it remains understood in both British and American English. It can also be used figuratively for people who share a family, community, national, or institutional connection, as in the phrase “my kinsmen in the diaspora.” This broader sense may include women even though the ordinary dictionary sense specifies male relatives. The related form kinswoman provides the corresponding female term, while the gender-neutral collective nouns kin and kinsfolk can refer to relatives of any sex. Kinsmen is consequently useful in formal writing, historical narrative, and descriptions of communities united by shared ancestry or experience, though relatives is usually the more natural everyday choice.
plural nounPlural of kinsman; male relatives by blood or marriage. By extension, it can mean people regarded as belonging to the same family, community, or group.
- Male relatives of one person by blood or marriage.
- People regarded as fellow members of a shared family, community, or group.
"The two kinsmen had inherited the farm from their grandfather."
"Many of the villagers were kinsmen and had grown up together."
"The organization welcomed its kinsmen from across the diaspora."
Plural of kinsman.
"Two of his kinsmen served as witnesses at the ceremony."
The word preserves a distinctly male form: the corresponding female relative is a kinswoman.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does kinsmen come from?
Kinsmen comes from the plural of kinsman, which was formed in Middle English from kin and man. The Old English ancestor was cynnes man, meaning “a man of one’s kin.” The modern form is cognate with related forms such as kinship, kinsfolk, and kinswoman, although only kinsman directly corresponds to the plural kinsmen.
Related word forms
How kinsmen is actually used
The word is literary, traditional, or formal in tone. Its extended sense of shared group membership is especially common in political, historical, and communal contexts.