Re: Personal Conjugation based on Closeness

Tristan scripsit:

> (I've never understood what things like 'second cousin three times
> removed' means, though.)
A person who has the same great^N-grandparent as you is your N+1th cousin.
Thus first cousins share a grandparent, second cousins share a great-
grandparent, third cousins share a great^2-grandparent, etc.

If the common ancestor is a different number of generations from
you and from your cousin, the names involving "removed" are used.
If the common ancestor is an great^M-grandparent of one of you, and
a great^N-grandparent of the other, where M < N, then you are M+1th
cousins N-M times removed.

Since these rules are not that widely known, especially the second one,
people sometimes use the names in ways different from those prescribed:
"second cousin" instead of "first cousin once removed" is not uncommon.

So your second cousin three times removed is someone whose
great-great-great-great-grandparent is the same as your great-grandparent,
or vice versa.

I hope this is clear enough to be helpful.

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all.  There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
        --_The Hobbit_

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