The cardinal aim of this paper is to demonstrate interrelationships between patterns of social behavior and patterns of terminology. The author postulates that the terminology significantly symbolizes behavioral patterns and proceeds to examine the relationship of Russian kinship terminology and social structure in the context of a pre-industrial society. The article explores the underlying semantic structure in the terminological field and illustrates how social structure underlies the behavioral field. A description of the Russian extended household, courtship and wedding, a general structure of kinship terminology, and an inventory of affinal terms are included. (Author/RL)