Truthiness - These are Mine Colbert - Eat Yer Heart Out

If you are reading this blog, then you are probably already aware that Steven Colbert has claimed to be the progenitor of the neo-logism "Truthiness".

Well, I am not going to be undone.

So here, in writing, I lay claim to three neologisms for which I insist upon receiving credit (unless someone can prove an earlier use).

Niecelet (noun), def.: the daughter of one's maternal or paternal first cousin. [ex. ["My niecelet has a puppy."]. Technically, the referenced relationship (between one person and his or her cousin's children) is described as "first cousin, once removed". However that usage is confusing to most people and of little use to anyone other than lawyers and geneologists. It is also a little too technical for a term of endearment. Hence "niecelet" represents a compromise, indicating there is a relationship, but it is not as closely filiated as an actual niece.

Nephlet (noun) - the masculine form of niecelet.

Kazuncle (noun) - technically, the relationship between "first cousins, once removed" is described the same way on both sides of the filiation table. In other word's my first cousin's children are my first cousins once removed, and I am also their first cousin once removed (and my spouse is a first-cousin-once-removed-in-law"). However, as I am my cousin's age, not the age of his children, I am typically addressed as "uncle" - it is a token of respect for my age, not a legal or accurate description of the relationship. Hence "Kazuncle" (despite its spelling, a combination of cousin & uncle) stands in to indicate that I'm really a cousin.

Take that Steven Colbert -
and Oxford Dictionary Editors everywhere - I am expecting to see these in the next edition, or YOU just might be "on notice."