English

Noun

co-parents-in-law

1. The parents of one's son- or daughter-in-law, that is, the parents-in-law of one's son or daughter.
2. The relationship between people whose children marry each other: the parents of the bride vis-à-vis the parents of the groom. Includes the relationship between maternal and paternal grandparents.
   • 1995, Janet Carsten, Stephen Hugh-Jones, About the house: Lévi-Strauss and beyond, page 120, 132:

     the relation between co-parents-in-law focuses on the production of grandchildren […] the relation between co-parents-in-law as stabilized through shared grandchildren

Usage notes

• Rare in conversation, the generic "in-laws" is generally used, with context left to disambiguate. Once grandchildren are born, the term co-grandparents may be used if the focus is on the relationship through the grandchildren rather than though the married couple.

Synonyms

• co-grandparents

Coordinate terms

• co-mother-in-law
• co-father-in-law

Related terms

• co-in-law
• co-brother-in-law
• co-sister-in-law
• co-grandmother-in-law
• co-grandfather-in-law
• co-parents (divorced or separated)

Translations