Kinship is the connection or relationship between people, especially through family ties. When you feel kinship with your cousins, you recognize that special bond that comes from sharing grandparents and family history. Kinship can mean blood relatives like siblings, parents, aunts, and uncles, or it can include relatives through marriage.

Anthropologists study kinship systems to understand how different cultures organize families and pass down property, names, and responsibilities. In some societies, kinship determines who inherits land or who is responsible for caring for elders. Ancient clans traced kinship back many generations to know who belonged to their group.

The word also describes feeling connected to people who aren't actually related to you. You might feel a sense of kinship with teammates who share your dedication to soccer, or with other students who love the same books you do. When someone says they feel kinship with another person, they mean they recognize something deeply familiar or compatible, a connection that feels almost like being family even if they're not related by blood.