Daily Ancestoravunculus
Avunculus is Latin for uncle, strictly the mother's brother, though later writers used it for any uncle.
In classical Latin avunculus meant the mother's brother, while patruus meant the father's brother. Later Latin sometimes used avunculus for any uncle, so the strict meaning is a hint, not proof.
The English word uncle comes from it. When a sponsor is called avunculus, look for him among the mother's family first.
As seen in a recordSponsor in a Latin baptism entry
patrinus: Joannes Weber, avunculus infantis
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Daily Ancestor. "avunculus." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/avunculus. Last checked 2026-10-01.