niece English · revision 39413

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la neptis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /niːs/, /nis/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|nece]], [[bor|xno|nece]] and [[fro|niece|t=niece; granddaughter]] (earlier [[m|fro|niepce]]),^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|neptia]],^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) which replaced [[la|neptis|t=granddaughter, female descendant]], the feminine of [[m|la|nepōs|t=grandson, nephew]].^(Etymonline)^(ODE 2010)^(OED 2026) The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1155.^(AND) The Latin words go back to an Indo-European kinship term,^(Ayto 2005)^(AHD 2024) also seen in [[lt|neptė]],^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(SOED 2002) [[sga|necht]] and [[cy|nith]].^(Etymonline) Its Germanic form, [[gem-pro|*niftiz]],^(Ayto 2005)^(Köbler Germ) gave [[ang|nift]], [[non|nipt]], [[de|Nichte]] and [[nl|nicht]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(Ayto 2005) The Middle English descendant [[m|enm|nifte]] was displaced by the French word, in Barnhart's view during the 16th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Onions 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A female relative, especially a cousin: about 1300.^(OED 2026) The now usual sense, the daughter of one's brother or sister, follows about 1325, in Robert of Gloucester's chronicle.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like ''nephew'', the word long had a looser meaning than today, covering any kinswoman and especially a granddaughter, as Latin ''neptis'' had.^(Trench 1859)^(Etymonline) The granddaughter sense is recorded from 1387 and lasted until about 1600 in general English and into the 18th century in Scotland;^(OED 2026)^(Skeat & Mayhew 1914)^(Etymonline) in Kent dialect ''niece'' still meant a granddaughter about 1900.^(Wright 1898) Trench quotes Philemon Holland's ''Pliny'', in which Augustus saw "the nephew of his niece", that is, his great-great-grandson.^(Trench 1859) Wycliffe's Bible of 1382 used ''nece'' even of a male relative, a use the OED records later in African American English.^(OED 2026) ''Niece'' was also a euphemism: from 1667 for a prostitute,^(GDoS) and in the 19th century for the illegitimate daughter of a priest.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a female relative, a cousin.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1325 – the daughter of one's brother or sister.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1382 – a male relative, a nephew.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1387 – a granddaughter (obsolete by 1782).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1667 – euphemism for a prostitute.^(GDoS)

+ * 1858 – euphemism for an illegitimate daughter.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A daughter of one's [[brother]] or [[sister]], or of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law.^(MWU 2024)^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A [[granddaughter]] or other female descendant.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' The illegitimate daughter of a [[celibate]] [[cleric]].^(MWU 2024)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grandniece]]

+ * [[great-niece]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nephew]]

+ * [[nepotism]]

+ * [[aunt]]

+ * [[uncle]]

+ * [[cousin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}