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Niece

 - 3 dictionary results

niece

  [nees]
Use Niece in a Sentence
–noun
1. a daughter of a person's brother or sister.
2. a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME nece < OF < VL *neptia, for L neptis granddaughter; r. ME nifte, OE nift niece (c. OFris, OHG nift, D nicht, ON nipt) < Gmc; akin to Lith neptė̃, Skt naptī; cf. nephew
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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niece   (nēs)   
n.  

  1. The daughter of one's brother or sister or of the brother or sister of one's spouse.

  2. The illegitimate daughter of an ecclesiastic who has taken a vow of celibacy.


[Middle English nece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *neptia, from Latin neptis; see nepōt- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

niece 
1297, from O.Fr. nièce (12c.), earlier niepce, from L. neptia, from neptis "granddaughter," in L.L. "niece," fem. of nepos "grandson, nephew" (see nephew). Replaced O.E. nift, from P.Gmc. *neftiz, from the same PIE root. Until c.1600, it also could mean "a granddaughter" or any remote female descendant. Cf. cognate Sp. nieta, O.Lith. nepte, Skt. naptih "granddaughter;" Czech net, O.Ir. necht, Welsh nith, Ger. Nichte "niece."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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