relations

     'Tis the season for family gatherings--do you know who your relations are?  Those cousins you haven't seen since the year before last? If they are your mother's or father's cousins, they are your "second cousins". If they are cousins to one of your grandparents, they are your "third cousins". If those cousins you don't remember are people you might never have met, except they are cousins of your cousins, they are your "cousins once removed"--for instance, your mother's sister marries, and her children are your cousins. Those children have cousins, to whom they are related on their father's side--these are your cousins once removed.