Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "niece" come from? It comes from Latin neptis, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "niece" come from? It comes from Latin neptis, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Niece’s story begins in Latin: neptis meant “a granddaughter.” A granddaughter, the feminine counterpart to nepos. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as niece. Narrowed in French to mean specifically a sibling's daughter. It reached English by 1300s as niece. Settled as the English word for a sibling's daughter. Today, niece means the daughter of one's sibling or sibling-in-law.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient neptis "a granddaughter", a granddaughter, the feminine counterpart to nepos.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval niece "a sibling's daughter", narrowed in French to mean specifically a sibling's daughter.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s niece "the daughter of one's sibling", settled as the English word for a sibling's daughter.