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Parallel and cross cousins
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<p>In discussing <a href="/facts/Consanguinity/YtPlwcv6">consanguineal</a> <a href="/facts/Kinship/grXkJ2u7">kinship</a> in <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>, a parallel cousin or ortho-cousin is a <a href="/facts/Cousin/X1XJTuWp">cousin</a> from a parent's same-sex sibling, while a cross-cousin is from a parent's opposite-sex sibling. Thus, a parallel cousin is the child of the father's brother (paternal uncle's child) or of the mother's sister (maternal aunt's child), while a cross-cousin is the child of the mother's brother (maternal uncle's child) or of the father's sister (paternal aunt's child). Where there are unilineal descent groups in a society (i.e. <a href="/facts/Matrilineal/RFgpp4Bg">matrilineal</a> and/or <a href="/facts/Patrilineal/DRID1Ly4">patrilineal</a>), one's parallel cousins on one or both sides will belong to one's own descent group, while cross-cousins will not (assuming descent group <a href="/facts/Exogamy/NYKMlQYK">exogamy</a>). </p>