system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is with the whole once removed, Xth, ect. thing with cousins?

I've heard people say Oh were 3rd cousins once removed or 9th cousins thrice removed. What exactly does it mean and how did that come to be with those terms?
gpt
1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc is the fewest steps to your shared relative. So for a first cousin, your shared relative is either of your parents, one step away. The child of your first cousin would still be your first cousin, because the fewest steps is 1, between you and your parent, but they're once removed because there's a difference of one generation (they're 2 steps away while you're one step away, 2-1=1, once removed).