The Scots leid haes its ain words for fowk an hoo thay micht be sib til ane anither. We stert oot on oor faimly tree or strind wi oorsels, an wirk back the wey gauin forder intae time until we find oorsels amang aulder kin, or forebears, that we daena ken acause thay leeved afore us, but we spring fae thaim, an we’r aucht thaim for the genes that we cairry the day an will likely see on til oor affspring.

We caw the parents that gied us life oor faither an mither, or mair informal like, oor da an ma (or maw). Thair parents afore thaim is oor granfaither an granmither, or granda an grannie informal like, an aw thair bairns or weans is the brithers an sisters o oor parents, cryed uncles an aunties til us.

Maist fowk daesna ken ayont thair granparents, but the mither an faither o thaim is oor gransher an granddame an ony bairns thay haed is kent as oor auld/grand uncles an auld/grand aunties. An the bairns o grand uncles an aunties is oor kizzens.

The faither an mither o yer gransher is yer foregransher an foregrandame an his faither an mither afore him yer erforegransher an erforegrandame gauin back sax grees o a faimly. But ony forder back we likely jist caw them oor forebears or forefowk.

The fowk that a body mairries intae is cawed yer guid-fowk. The faither an mither o yer man or wife is cawed yer guid-faither an guid-mither, while the brither or sister o yer man or wife is yer guid-brither an guid-sister. Yer man or wife tae yer parents is a guid-son or guid-dochter.

Mony fowk haes a son or a dochter, an affen a granson an grandochter kent ithergaits as granbairns or granweans. Thair bairns in turn is yer ieroe-son an ieroe-dochter.

The son o yer brither or sister is cawed yer nevey, while a dochter is yer niece. It wis lang the tradeetion in Scots tae distinguish whither a nevey or niece wis aff the faither or mither’s side wi cawin them a brither-son or sister-dochter an the like.