いやいとこ

い

や

い

と

こ

Meanings

noun

second cousin

usually written using kana alonearchaic

Archaic term for a second cousin; modern Japanese uses 再従兄弟 (さいとこ) or はとこ instead.

Kanji

弥all the more, increasingly
従accompany, obey, submit to
兄elder brother, big brother
弟younger brother, faithful service to elders
姉elder sister
妹younger sister

Related words

再従兄弟はとこ
Modern standard term for second cousin; いやいとこ is its archaic equivalent.
はとこ
Common colloquial term for second cousin; more frequent in everyday speech than いやいとこ.

Built from

弥いや+いとこ

Written forms

弥いや従兄弟いとこ
Archaic kanji spelling for male or mixed-gender second cousins.
弥いや従姉妹いとこ
Archaic kanji spelling for female second cousins.

Etymology

The prefix 弥 (いや) is an old intensifier meaning 'more' or 'further', combined with 従兄弟 (いとこ) 'cousin', literally 'further cousin'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.