cousins en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkʌzɪns/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
- [ˈkʰɐz.ɹ̩ns] US, weak vowel merger
- /ˈkʌzn̩s/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkʌz(ə)ns/ (General-American)
Etymology
From cousin + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense forms of verbs). The plural noun noun 1 sense 1 (“American or British intelligence services”) was popularized in the works of the English author John le Carré (David John Moore Cornwell; 1930–2020).
Meanings
-
(form-of, plural) plural of cousin
form of cousin
-
(plural, plural-only, slang) The American intelligence services (from a British perspective) or the British intelligence services (from an American perspective).
[T]he grounded fieldmen, the trainers and the case officers who made their own murmured caucus always – they saw the question solely in operational terms. […] They saw the shotgun marriage with the Cousins as just another skilful bit of tradecraft in a long and delicate poker game.
1977, John le Carré [pseudonym; David John Moore Cornwell], chapter I, in The Honourable Schoolboy, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN, page 16:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cousins | alternative | lexicographic |