née
or nee
formerly known as (used following the person’s current or recognized name to introduce a previous, usually feminine, name): Jackie Kennedy Onassis, née Bouvier.
Origin of née
1usage note For née
While in French a man’s original name would be noted with the masculine form né , some English speakers are only familiar with the form née. It is not uncommon to see this feminine form used for masculine names, or inanimate objects: the Tennessee Titans, née the Houston Oilers. On the other hand, because English has no gender inflection, it is normal for borrowed words to lose gender markings, so the masculine form né is also sometimes seen modifying a woman’s name: Marilyn Monroe, né Norma Jean Mortensen.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use née in a sentence
Foot (née Bosanquet) created the original trolley problem in a 1967 article in the Oxford Review.
Would You Kill the Fat Man? And Other Conundrums | Robert Herritt | December 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTNikki Haley, née Nimrata Randhawa, is almost assured of the Republican nomination for governor of the state of South Carolina.
Nikki Haley and the New Racial Face of the South | Tunku Varadarajan | June 9, 2010 | THE DAILY BEASTUntrained artist H.A. Rey (né Hans Augusto Reyersbach) and his wife, photographer Margret (née Margarete Waldstein).
Mrs. Howell, née Dolores Maria Cortez, was that pathetic thing, a woman who had once been very beautiful.
Mavis of Green Hill | Faith BaldwinDo you remember the pension bourgeoise of Madame Vauquer née de Conflans?
A Bundle of Letters | Henry James
Marguerite de Peyrelade, née Pradines, was then summoned by the crier.
A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest | Amelia B. EdwardsMrs. Puffington, née Smith, was a tall handsome woman, who thought a good deal of herself.
Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour | R. S. SurteesThe amazing difference which this made in the sentiments of Mrs. Phœbe Beecham, née Tozer, it is quite impossible to describe.
Phoebe, Junior | Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
British Dictionary definitions for née
nee
/ (neɪ) /
indicating the maiden name of a married woman: Mrs Bloggs née Blandish
Origin of née
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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