neptia

Forms

neptia f (genitive neptiae); first declension^[1] Also nepta.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin neptis (“granddaughter”),^[1][2] replacing it with a form that marks the feminine gender more clearly, perhaps on the model of avia (“grandmother”).^[3]

It survives in the Romance languages: in Old French niece, the source of niece,^[3][4] Old Occitan nepsa, Venetian netsa, Old Italian nezza,^[3] Spanish nieta and Portuguese neta.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in an inscription of the 1st century AD (CIL XIII 8409), in the sense “granddaughter”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the strict sense of a son's or daughter's daughter it is found only in inscriptions, mostly of the 2nd and 3rd centuries.^[3] Inscriptions of the 3rd and 4th centuries use it more loosely for a brother's daughter, a niece,^[3] and a glossary equates it with Greek Ancient Greek ἀνεψιά (anepsiá, “cousin”).^[3] Both senses passed into Old French niece,^[4] and the niece sense into Old Italian.^[3]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – An inscription (CIL XIII 8409) uses it for a granddaughter.^[3]
• 3rd century AD? – An inscription (CIL XIII 2237) uses it for a brother's daughter.^[3]
• 4th century AD – An inscription (CIL XIII 11737) uses it for a niece.^[3]
• c. 1300 – English nece, from Old French, continues it.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A granddaughter.^[3][1]
2. (Late Latin) A niece, a brother's daughter.^[3][1]
3. (Late Latin) A female cousin.^[3]

Related words

• nepōs
• English niece

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com