the.com/inlaw
Family you didn't choose, sworn in by someone else's heart.
means A relative acquired through marriage rather than blood, such as a spouse's parent, sibling, or child's spouse.
from A transparent English compound of "in" plus "law" — these are the kin who count as family "in law" (by legal bond) but not by birth. The construction dates back centuries; an older form, "mother-in-law," once stretched even to step-relations before the meaning narrowed to those joined by marriage.
- legal root
- The law in inlaw means canon law, not courtroom
- old name
- Once called fathers and mothers godsib, source of gossip
- mutual fear
- Surveys show inlaws dread each other equally
- daughter trap
- Mother-daughter inlaw friction tops every conflict study