SPECIAL WORDS FOR SEX AND RELA TIONSHIP 209 



Greek Trdrpay^, Latin patruus, A.S. fcidera, 0. Fries. 

 federia, O.H.G. fataro, L.G. vedder, M.H.G. vetero, 

 Modern German vetter. Originally these words stood 

 for father's brother, but then we find the sense extended 

 to patruelis, father's brother's child, and ultimately to 

 cousins. It seems to me that feteron was probably the 

 title of all the adult males of the gamahhida group in 

 relation to the children, as mdmen stood for the adult 

 females. But the males who were feteron to the children 

 of the group, were vetter in the modern sense among 

 themselves ; hence the double and somewhat confusing 

 sense of the word. Even to the days of Luther we still 

 find vetter used in the sense of father's brother, along- 

 side its use for father's brother's son. As strong evidence 

 that feteron were a group of co-fathers, I would cite 

 the Anglo-Saxon law as to halsfang, a penalty to be 

 paid to the near relatives of one who had been killed. 

 " Heals-fang gebyreft bearnum brosrum and fsederan." * 

 " Halsfang belongs to children, brothers, and feteron." 

 Here it is hard to conceive that the paternal uncle is 

 included to the exclusion of the father, but rather 

 bearnum stands for the younger, broftrum for the 

 contemporary, and fcederan for the elder generation. 

 This view is confirmed by the use of the phrase binnan 

 cnedwe for the same group, for the relations intra genu 

 certainly included the father. 



Another remarkable use of the word, which again 

 suggests the primitive value of feteron as the co- 

 fathers of the group, arises from the use of O.H.G. 

 gavatero, A.S. gefaedera, 0. Fries, fadera, Danish 



1 R. Schmid, Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, 1858, p. 394. 

 VOL. II P 



