daughter-in-law

[ daw-ter-in-law ]

noun

, plural daugh·ters-in-law.

1. the wife of one's child.

daughter-in-law

noun

1. the wife of one's son

Word History and Origins

Origin of daughter-in-law¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English doughter in lawe; daughter, in, law ¹; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins