great-aunt

   Terms which indicate a relationship once removed, a great-aunt being the aunt of one’s father or mother. The ‘great-’ translates French grand, which is used for similar purposes in words like grandpère, grandmère, ‘grandfather’, ‘grandmother’. The French usage was in turn imitative of Latin, where ‘great-uncle’ would have been avunculus magnus. Great-aunt is not used frequently as a vocative, aunt itself would usually be the term used, but much is made of the fuller form in the children’s story

   The Girl without a Name, by Agnes M.Miall. There an old lady insists on being called ‘Great-Aunt’, both by her niece and her niece’s children. ‘“Great Aunt suits me,” said the owner of the title. It certainly did. As Cherry once said: “She’s great in every sense of the word.”’ The woman concerned happens to be very tall.