What do you call this?

Post Reply New Topic

If you have an adult child and they marry, what do you call their spouse's parents?

The parents are mother-in-law and father-in-law to your adult child. But what are they to you?

Is there a word for it?

people to be seen ideally only during holidays.

That's a head scratcher.

If your child is say, your daughter, then you will just have to call them "my daughter's parents-in-law".

Except for some reason you don't even ever hear the expression "parents-in-law" .

Its always either more specific (my mother in law, my father in law), or its less specific ( "my in laws"). Go figure. So I guess you hafta say "My son/daughter's mother-in-law and father-in-law are coming over for thanksgiving".

When the daughter of my first cousin comes up in conversation I sometimes call her "my niece" even though I always knew that that isn't quite right. So I looked it up on line and learned that in fact she is my "first cousin once removed", and that I am not her "uncle" but that I am her "first cousin once removed" as well. Our kinship labels for each other are exactly the same. Learn sumpin new every day. So I guess you will hafta go online too.

Had to look it up, but technically it's a co-parent-in-law. Though I've never once heard that used in conversation

Your "daughter's in-laws" would be the common explanation.

In-laws lol

Over here you would say ''The in-laws''
where as your daughter would say ''My in-laws''

Just " family in law"

An interesting comment from a website that asked the same question a few years ago:

Collectively, "In-Laws". Singularly, by their first names.

I have two daughters who are married. I would generally call them either by their names or by "my daughter's name" father-in-law or "my daughter's name" mother-in-law.