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Blood relationships are both lineal and collateral. Direct lines, as in grandparent-parent-you-child-grandchild, are lineal. Collateral relationships are between persons in separate lines of lineal descent from a common ancestor (CA) i.e. siblings, nephews and nieces (CA=parent) or cousins, aunts and uncles (CA=grandparent). Prior to you (chart below) is a lineal descent of grandparents who share the corresponding prefix great i.e. great x3 grandchild associates with great x3 grandparents. Preceding you is a collateral series of grandaunts and granduncles whenever grandparents have siblings. You in turn will be their grandniece or grandnephew with the prefix great to match i.e. great x4 granduncle and great x4 grandniece or a variant thereof.

Your children and continuing offspring of your siblings (nieces and nephews) also use prefixes great and grand. Your progeny and your sibling offspring are first cousins to each other. Your children and your first cousin's children are second cousins to each other. Your grandchildren and your first cousin's grandchildren are third cousins to each other. You and first cousin share the grandparent as the CA. You and second cousin have the great grandparent as the CA. The term "second cousin" etc. is used only for people of the same generation; using the term "second cousin" to label the the son or daughter of a first cousin is incorrect -- that person must be designated as "first cousin one (or once) removed." Children of (grand)aunts and (grand)uncles in parallel lines of lineal descent but in the same generation as you are not "removed." "Removed" is also used for cousins of preceding generations.

Under civil law every generation constitutes a degree. Your parents and your children are related to you in the first degree; grandparents and grandchildren are related to you in the second degree. Siblings are related in the second, first cousins in the fourth, and second cousins in the sixth degree.

Legend: g=great; g2=great x2; G=grand; P=parent; U=aunt/uncle; 1c=first cousin; 1c1r=first cousin once removed; N=niece/nephew; S=siblings (sister/brother); C=children (daughter/son).

From SHARE Newsletter No.6, page 57, "How to Determine Family Relationships".

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