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
- (Late Latin) A granddaughter.[3][1]
- (Late Latin) A niece, a brother's daughter.[3][1]
- (Late Latin) A female cousin.[3]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com