nee

Where does the word "nee" come from? It comes from Latin nasci, passing through Old French and French before entering English (1758).

Nee’s story begins in Latin: nasci meant “to be born.” The verb of being born, whose past participle was natus. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as naitre. Kept the sense of birth. From there it passed into French as nee by medieval. The feminine past participle, literally 'born', used before a woman's birth name. It reached English by 1758 as nee. Borrowed to introduce a married woman's maiden name. Today, nee means used to indicate the maiden or birth name of a married woman.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient nasci "to be born", the verb of being born, whose past participle was natus.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval naitre "to be born", kept the sense of birth.
3. Stage 3 · French · medieval nee "born (as)", the feminine past participle, literally 'born', used before a woman's birth name.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1758 nee "born with the name of", borrowed to introduce a married woman's maiden name.