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relationship

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
English relation
Proto-Germanic *skapjaną
Proto-Germanic *-skapiz
Proto-West Germanic *-skapi
Old English -sċiepe
Middle English -schipe
English -ship
English relationship

    From relation + -ship. Displaced native Old English sibb.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    relationship (plural relationships)

    1. Connection or association; the condition of being related.
      Near-synonym: alliance
      • 2011 February 1, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction‎[1], Wesleyan University Press, →ISBN, pages 102–103:
        But some discussion of the complex relationship between “allohistory” and sf is appropriate here, as the genres overlap in certain ways. Classical allohistory— such as Trevelyan's "What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo?" and Churchill's "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg" —is a rigorously consistent thought-experiment in historical causality.
      • 2021 January 9, Kylie Atwood, quoting Mike Pompeo, “US lifts self-imposed restrictions with Taiwan”, in CNN‎[2], archived from the original on 25 January 2021:
        “The United States government maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception. Our two democracies share common values of individual freedom, the rule of law, and a respect for human dignity. Today’s statement recognizes that the US-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy,” Pompeo wrote.
    2. (mathematics) The links between the x-values and y-values of ordered pairs of numbers especially coordinates.
      • 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist‎[3], volume 408, number 8848, archived from the original on 10 March 2023:
        Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.
    3. Kinship; being related by blood or marriage.
    4. A romantic or sexual involvement.
      They have been in a relationship for ten years, but have never married.
      • 1975 March 17, Marian Christy, “Suzy Chaffee, A Liberated Beauty”, in The Lebanon Daily News:
        I'm not advocating sexual promiscuity but I think it's possible for a woman to have many kinds of sexual relationships with many men and that shouldn't affect the status of the marriage.
      • 2000 April 8, Dorthea Straus, “Oates on Marilyn: Men, drugs, tragedy”, in The Baltimore Sun:
        Her most satisfying sexual relationship seemed to be a threesome with Charles Chaplin Jr. and Eddy Robinson Jr., the spurned sons of famous film fathers.
      • 2021 July 20, Sarah Molano, “Most romantic relationships start as friendships, study finds”, in CNN‎[4], archived from the original on 2 July 2025:
        Contrary to the popular perception that love typically sparks from passion, a new study finds two-thirds of romantic relationships begin as long-term friendships.
      • 2025 August 13, Müjdat Erarkadaş, Kübra Özmeral Erarkadaş, Şahika Gülen Şişmanlar, “Autism Spectrum Disorder Beyond Childhood: A Comprehensive Assessment of Activities of Daily Living and Social Functioning in Turkish Adults”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders‎[5], →DOI:
        Only 25.3% of our participants had a social peer group, and just 3.4% had ever been in a romantic relationship. None were currently in a relationship or married.
    5. A way in which two or more people behave and are involved with each other.
      Near-synonym: footing
      I have a good working relationship with my boss.
      • 1960 February, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Preston—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 96:
        As the two railways were to meet end-on, providing a continuous line from Parkside to Lancaster, it would have been expected that they would work together harmoniously for their common interests, but the quibble over the connection strained the relationship from the beginning.
      • 2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in A.V. Club‎[6], archived from the original on 29 March 2013:
        “I Love Lisa” opens with one of my favorite underappreciated running jokes from The Simpsons: the passive-aggressive, quietly contentious relationship of radio jocks Bill and Marty, whose mindless happy talk regularly gives way to charged exchanges that betray the simmering resentment and disappointment perpetually lingering just under the surface of their relationship.
      • 2026 March 18, Peter Plisner, “Will devolution deliver real local control?”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 45:
        The guide states that partnerships will require relationships between the railway and local authorities to function "like never before", responding to both the changes to the structure of the railways and the growing delivery roles of MSAs [Mayoral Strategic Authorities].
    6. (music) The level or degree of affinity between keys, chords and tones.

    Hyponyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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