A silent bond connects Savvy Aunties across the globe: our unconditional love for the children in our lives. Now, this Auntiepedia (n. encyclopedia of auntie words), provides the language for what helps make us Aunties oh so savvy and oh so connected. Adopt these words into your daily vocabulary and always remind yourself what makes you a Savvy Auntie!

Auntcestors: Personal and role-model ancestor Aunties

Aunthology: A collection of stories related to Aunthood.

Aunticipation: The so-amazing moment when you first find out that you’re going to become an Auntie, as in: "Oh the Aunticipation!"

Auntie by Choice: Or ABC. An Auntie to a child of no familial relation

Auntie by Relation: Or ABR. Auntie to niece or nephew by familial relation

Auntie Earth: Focused on making the world a better, cleaner, healthier place to live for her nieces, nephews, and all the people, plants, and animals on the planet

Auntie Up!: When an Auntie shares her savvy with her Auntourage

Auntie’s Day®: The annual holiday set aside to honor and celebrate all Savvy Aunties

Auntiedotes: Auntie antidotes for common niece or nephew ailments

Auntiescopes: Auntie’s horoscope, also known as auntstrology

Auntieversary: The day you become an aunt, a.k.a. the day your first niece or nephew, by relation or by choice, is born. Although his or her birthday will always be the higher-priority celebration, it’s nice to commemorate the day your life changed forever. Even if just for a moment in your heart

Auntique: A stodgy old Auntie from the days of yore. She may be set in her ways and more than a little old-fashioned in her views on children, but take heed—she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve that’ll make any child fall in love with her

Auntivities: Activities produced by Auntie

Auntourage: the Auntie entourage, or the group of women an aunt connects with for ideas, advice and support.

Aunt-Rageous: Or Rocker Auntie. No need to ask this Auntie to turn up the volume. She’s got rock ’n’ roll in her blood. You can hear her coming from a quarter mile away as she approaches the house on her motorcycle. This bada** Auntie has a very soft spot for her baby niece or nephew.

Auntre-nous: As in Entre Nous. Or, just between us Aunties.

Auntrepreneur: A Savvy Auntie who’s got business savvy to boot—so much so that she runs her own company.

Auntuition: Instinctual urges—those delicious desires to hug, kiss, and cuddle a newborn; the strong pull you feel inside you when the baby cries—guiding you toward better and better Auntie-ing skills

Auntymology: Origin of the words “aunt” and “Auntie”

BenevolAunt: Or the Giving Back Auntie. What we get in life is nothing compared to what we give. You are very committed to needy causes, locally and globally, and wish for nothing more than to pass along that do-good spirit to your nieces and nephews.

BohemiAunt: Or the Peaceful Auntie. This chill Auntie is all about love, not war. She magically soothes baby with just the lightest touch (and her magical stones). You can hear her say: Namaste, baby. Namaste.

Bon VivAuntie: Or Fancy Auntie. Everything in life deserves to be done with a touch of class, elegance, and maybe a few extra bucks. Savvy Fancy Aunties know it’s the only way to go.

CelebAuntie: Or, CelebutAunt. A celebrity who is also a Savvy Auntie

ConfidAunt: A Savvy Auntie whose specialty is serving as trust keeper and sounding board to her nieces and nephews, who know they can turn to her with secrets they’re not yet ready to share with Mom and Dad. And, of course, everything stays auntre-nous—between niece or nephew and confidAuntie.

CongrAuntulations: The way an Auntie is congratulated

DebutAunt: First-time Auntie

DebutAunt Ball: A celebration in honor of a first-time aunt

DebutAunt High Ball: A cocktail served at a DebutAunt Ball

Fairy GodAuntie: In the spirit of the “fairy godmother” characters commonly found in Disney movies, Fairy GodAuntie is a magical force in a child’s life. She appears briefly, for snippets at a time, but always brings joy.

FashioNieceta: Auntie's fashionable niece

FAuntastic: Fantastic things associated with Auntie

FAuntasy Aunts: Favorite fiction aunties

FestivAunts: From the very first day you become an Auntie, all the days that follow feel a little more special. But of course, some days—birthday, holidays, religious celebrations, family firsts and commemorations—really are a little more special. And special occasions always call for extra planning, which just so happens to be a Savvy Auntie’s specialty. Let the fetes begin!

GourmAunt: Or, Foodie Auntie. Feeding her niece or nephew out of a jar just won’t do for this foodie. Hand-mixing a medley of brightly colored, organic vegetables is the only obvious choice.

Her Royal HighNiece: Originally designed for the arrival of Auntie Pippa Middleton's niece, Princess Charlotte, it may be applied to any little princess-niece.

LesbiAunt: As some lesbians don’t have children of their own, they may form very close bonds with the children of their friends and families. LesbiAunties enjoy unique opportunities to teach their nieces and nephews about diversity and tolerance. The gay uncle—or “guncle”—is often just as much an “Auntie” as any woman!

Long-Distance Auntie: Or, LDA. An Auntie who does not live near her nieces and nephews

Nannties: or Nanny Aunties. A nanny who takes on a large portion of the child-rearing duties when kids are younger may find that those bonds don’t go away as they get older. In fact, Nannties and their charges often stay in touch for years afterward, marking the special occasions in one another’s lives and even maintaining a presence in the lives of the generation to come.

PANK®: Or, Professional Aunt No Kids. The acronym coined by Savvy Auntie founder, Melanie Notkin, to describe the niche or market segment of women who are not childless, but rather ‘childfull,’ for choosing to love and support the nieces, nephews, godchildren and all children in their lives.

ParAunt: Sounds like, and acts like, a parent. Life brings unexpected surprises and unforeseen circumstances, like when our nieces and nephews come under our legal guardianship. Whether due to unfit parents, illness, incarceration, or untimely death, many Aunties are now mommies to their nieces and nephews.

QualAuntie Time: Auntie time is quality time. All the ways that Aunties interact with young nieces and nephews—playing alongside them, reading them the same book three times in a row just because they want to hear it again and again, making up new games—can be critical to their cognitive, social and emotional development and future academic successes. In fact Auntie may be one of the few adults in a niece’s or nephew’s life who can provide that playful early education

RomAuntic: The romantic life of an Auntie

SavAuntie: the professor-type Auntie, Savvy means smart, and you’ll stop at nothing to make sure your niece or nephew is the smartest kid on the block. You’re always teaching, whether through educational experiences, brain-bolstering gifts, or ingeniously expounding upon the empirical salience of compiling an elongated vocabulary

Savvy Auntie®: Any and all Aunties by Relation, Aunties by Choice, godmothers and all the fabulous women who love child not-their-own. Savvy Auntie is a celebration of modern Aunthood.

Savvy Auntini: The Savvy Auntie cocktail of choice

Temper TAuntrums: When nieces or nephews have temper tantrums in Auntie’s care

Published: January 23, 2012
With help by Raquel Wildes.