English Explanatory Dictionary

nephew

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).
  2. A son of one's cousin or cousin-in-law
  3. A son of one's child.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

nĕfʹyo͞o /ˈnɛf.ju/ /ˈnɛv.ju/ en-us-nephew.ogg

Word forms

nephew nephews

Etymology

From Middle English nevew, neveu (“nephew, grandson”), from Old French neveu, from Latin nepos, nepōtem, from Proto-Italic *nepōts (“nephew, grandson”), whence also French neveu, Italian nipote. Displaced or absorbed the inherited English neve (“nephew, grandson, male cousin”), from Middle English neve, from Old English nefa, from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô (“nephew, grandson”), whence Dutch neef, German Neffe. All ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *népōts (“grandchild, sister's son”). Cognate with Serbo-Croatian nećak, Irish nia, Persian نوه (nave). Spelt with -ph- by readaptation to Latin nepos since the 15th century, which later triggered the spelling pronunciation with /f/.

Synonyms

neve grandson

Related words

nepotism neve niece nift

Derived words

cardinal nephew cardinal-nephew grandnephew great-great-nephew great-nephew half nephew half-nephew nephew fucker nephew-in-law nephewish nephewless nephewly nephewship nevvy niefling step-nephew stepnephew uterine nephew Welsh nephew
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