I have a sister. What are her husband's parents to me (i.e. her parents in-law)?
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3As far as I know we don't have a better term than 'my sister's parents-in-law'. You might be interested in this essay - it's not precisely what you want but it might give a lead http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/08/naming-of-cousins/ – chasly - supports Monica Sep 13 '15 at 01:20
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2The Chinese may have a word for that. If they don't, I doubt any other language does. – Centaurus Sep 13 '15 at 01:45
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related: What is the relationship name of my wife's brother to me? and Name for the relationship of wife’s sister’s husband – Mari-Lou A Sep 13 '15 at 03:17
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1An explanation for the lexical gap in the English language: Paucity of words for relationships – Mari-Lou A Sep 13 '15 at 03:24
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1Why the downvotes? OK, no research shown...well the OP is aware of "parents in-law". Question unclear? No. It's very clear. It's not a duplicate. Lack of effort? Yes. But give the newcomer a chance! – Mari-Lou A Sep 13 '15 at 04:29
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1In English, the word for people who are not related to you is *unrelated*. – tchrist Sep 13 '15 at 13:14
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@tchrist: LOL, I think your comment goes deeper than you maybe intended :) I had exactly the same feeling: "why the hell should we have a term for something which we do not feel as a notion"? Apparently, this is culturally dependent. The same as Mari-Lou A, I do not think that the OP deserves downvotes for this question. And it may be very interesting - if the OP knows - to put here an example of a language which has developed a word for such an "unrelated relationship" :) – Honza Zidek Sep 14 '15 at 08:35
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Realated (possible dupe): What is the term for my son's father/mother in law?. – Tim Lymington Sep 15 '15 at 10:11
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Your sister is married, her husband is your brother-in-law, when referring to his parents you can say: my brother-in-law's parents
Google Books has 91 hits for brother-in-law's parents
As friends and family visited my sister with offers of food, money and emotional support.My brother-in-law's parents, brother, sister, and extended family came from Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, Long Island and Florida.
Newyorkseptembereleventwothousandone
Your sister is married and her husband's parents are her in-laws. Her husband's mother is her mother-in-law, while his father is her father-in-law. Consequently, you could also call them: my sister's parents-in-laws.
But astonishingly, Google Books has no results for sister's parents-in-laws.
Instead, the shortened in-laws is preferred. The expression: sister's in-laws is reported 363 times by Google Books.
My sister's in-laws did not live in Nanjing, and this created a housing problem. Most new couples could not get a housing unit from the government. They had to live with one or the other's parents for a while, usually the husband's.
Thirty Years in a Red House: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth in Communist ChinaAll of the couple's siblings live here - as well as her sister's in-laws, his sister's in-laws, and many cousins. They are an extended family that would do any Midwestern town proud,...
Calling Arizona Home
Mari-Lou A
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I answered this question because 1) I couldn't find a duplicate. 2) there is a kinship expression. 3) the suggested answer in the comment section although technically correct, is not the most common. – Mari-Lou A Sep 13 '15 at 04:11