Say Uncle?

[darkerhorse]

Supposing a woman marries a man and he dies. She then marries her deceased husband's brother and they have a child.

Is it correct to state that the child's mother was married to the child's "uncle" before she married the child's father?

Or, is "uncle" not correct since he wasn't her uncle when the first marriage took place?

Instead, should he only be called "the brother of the child's father"?

What about a "would-be uncle" or "would-have-been uncle"?

My sense is that anything other than uncle or brother of the child's father is overthinking, but I wanted confirmation.

Thoughts?

[PippoM]

I think "uncle" is just a word.
In our researches, there are no rules.
So, when someone asks what would be the "correct surname" of an individual, I say it just depends on the use.
The same goes for an "uncle": it's a word used in our colloquial speech, it doesn't set a rule. "uncle" (I mean, "zio"), is often used for people next to the family, but not really related. Nobody will ever go to prison, or lose a match, because of that word. What I mean, is there no reason to have a strict rule for the use of that word.
However, my thought, but just mine, is that "uncle" could be correct.

[darkerhorse]

Thanks, Uncle Pippo.

[PippoM]

You're welcome, compare!