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IncestThis article is about the variable social, legal, religious, and cultural attitudes and sanctions concerning human sexual relations with close kin. For the biological act of reproducing with close kin, see . For the descriptive term for blood-related kin, see .For other uses, see .FamilyMarriage and other
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Incest is between family members or close .[1][2] This typically includes sexual activity between people in (blood relations), and sometimes those related by ( or ), , , or .

The is one of the most widespread of all cultural , both in present and in past societies.[3] Most modern societies have or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages.[3] In societies where it is illegal, consensual adult incest is seen by some as a .[4][5] Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity such as , step-siblings, and adoptive siblings, albeit sometimes with less intensity.[6][7]Third-degree relatives (such as half-aunt, half-nephew, first cousin) on average have 12.5% common genetic heritage, and sexual relations between them are viewed differently in various cultures, from being discouraged to being socially acceptable.[8] Children of incestuous relationships have been regarded as , and are still so regarded in some societies today. In most cases, the parents did not have the option to marry to remove that status, as incestuous marriages were, and are, normally also prohibited.

A common justification for prohibiting incest is avoiding : a collection of suffered by the children of parents with a close .[9] Such children are at greater risk for congenital disorders, death, and developmental and physical disability, and that risk is proportional to their parents' —a measure of how closely the parents are related genetically.[9][10] But cultural anthropologists have noted that inbreeding avoidance cannot form the sole basis for the incest taboo because the boundaries of the incest prohibition vary widely between cultures, and not necessarily in ways that maximize the avoidance of inbreeding.[9][11][12][13]

In some societies, such as those of , brother–sister, father–daughter, mother–son, cousin–cousin, aunt–nephew, uncle–niece, and other combinations of relations within a were married as a means of perpetuating the royal lineage.[14][15] Some societies, such as the [16] and some tribes,[17] have different views about what constitutes illegal or immoral incest. However, sexual relations with a first-degree relative (meaning a parent or sibling) are almost universally forbidden.[18]

TerminologyThe number next to each box indicates the degree of relationship relative to the given person.

The English word is derived from the Latin incestus, which has a general meaning of "impure, unchaste". It was introduced into , both in the generic Latin sense (preserved throughout the Middle English period[19]) and in the narrow modern sense. The derived adjective incestuous appears in the 16th century.[20] Before the Latin term came in, incest was known in as sib-leger (from sibb 'kinship' + leger 'to lie') or mǣġhǣmed (from mǣġ'kin, parent' + hǣmed 'sexual intercourse') but in time, both words fell out of use. Terms like incester[21][22][23] and incestual[24][25] have been used to describe those interested or involved in sexual relations with relatives among humans, while inbreeder has been used in relation to similar behavior among non-human animals or organisms.[26]

Other words that describe sexual attraction to relatives include consanguinophilia, consanguinamory, synegenesophilia, incestuality and incestophilia.[27][28][29][30]