Now, which ones am I allowed to marry?
I'd like to report a great personal achievement.
I finally understand the whole first-second-removed-cousin nomenclature. More accurately, someone was finally able to explain it to me in a way that penetrated my addled brain.
I must share. I know I'm not the only one who was perpetually confounded by this terminology. And what is the Mad Blog for but the sharing of information?
The big difference between numbered cousins and removed cousins is the generation. A first/second/third cousin is the same generation as you. The first/second/third term refer to how many generations separate you from your common grandparents. The removed cousins are not the same generation as you, and the first-removed/second-removed/etc refers to how many generations removed you are.
Allow me to illustrate.
First cousins, everybody gets that. Same generation as you. You have the same grandparents.
My mother's first cousin Kevin has a son named Perry. Perry is my generation, although he's quite a bit younger than me. He is my second cousin. I could legally marry him if I wanted to, although honestly I wouldn't know him if he passed me on the street. We have common great grandparents. Our grandparents are sisters, our parents are first cousins. Kevin himself is my first cousin, once removed. He is my mother's first cousin. He is my mother's generation. He and I have no common grandparents, because his grandmother is my great-grandmother.
And so on. My grandmother's cousin's grandchild would be my third cousin. We would have common great-great-grandparents. These would be the great-grandchildren of my great-grandmother's siblings. I do not even know who any of my great-grandmother's siblings are. I was told once that a guy I knew in high school was my third cousin. I kind of had to take their word for it.
So if a cousin is once removed, they're either your parents' generation or your child's generation. Twice removed would be your grandparents' age or your grandchild's age. For example, my cousin Emma and my niece Teagan are first cousins once removed. Emma and Tommy, my brother, are first cousins and Teagan is his daughter. When Emma has a child of her own, that child and Teagan will be second cousins.
There will be a test on this later, and the results will go on your permanent record.
I finally understand the whole first-second-removed-cousin nomenclature. More accurately, someone was finally able to explain it to me in a way that penetrated my addled brain.
I must share. I know I'm not the only one who was perpetually confounded by this terminology. And what is the Mad Blog for but the sharing of information?
The big difference between numbered cousins and removed cousins is the generation. A first/second/third cousin is the same generation as you. The first/second/third term refer to how many generations separate you from your common grandparents. The removed cousins are not the same generation as you, and the first-removed/second-removed/etc refers to how many generations removed you are.
Allow me to illustrate.
First cousins, everybody gets that. Same generation as you. You have the same grandparents.
My mother's first cousin Kevin has a son named Perry. Perry is my generation, although he's quite a bit younger than me. He is my second cousin. I could legally marry him if I wanted to, although honestly I wouldn't know him if he passed me on the street. We have common great grandparents. Our grandparents are sisters, our parents are first cousins. Kevin himself is my first cousin, once removed. He is my mother's first cousin. He is my mother's generation. He and I have no common grandparents, because his grandmother is my great-grandmother.
And so on. My grandmother's cousin's grandchild would be my third cousin. We would have common great-great-grandparents. These would be the great-grandchildren of my great-grandmother's siblings. I do not even know who any of my great-grandmother's siblings are. I was told once that a guy I knew in high school was my third cousin. I kind of had to take their word for it.
So if a cousin is once removed, they're either your parents' generation or your child's generation. Twice removed would be your grandparents' age or your grandchild's age. For example, my cousin Emma and my niece Teagan are first cousins once removed. Emma and Tommy, my brother, are first cousins and Teagan is his daughter. When Emma has a child of her own, that child and Teagan will be second cousins.
There will be a test on this later, and the results will go on your permanent record.