nephew

See also: Nephew

English

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/.

Pronunciation

• enPR: nĕfʹyo͞o, IPA^(key): /ˈnɛf.ju/
• (Received Pronunciation, dated) IPA^(key): /ˈnɛv.ju/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

nephew (plural nephews)

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).

   Synonym: (obsolete) neve

   Hypernyms: nephling, nibling

   Hyponyms: fraternal nephew, sororal nephew

   Coordinate terms: niece, nift

2. A son of one's cousin or cousin-in-law
3. (archaic) A son of one's child.

   Synonym: grandson

   • 1567, Ovid, “The First Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC:

     Hir father many a time and oft would say my daughter deere,
     Of Nephewes thou my debtour art, their Graundsires heart to chéere.

Hypernyms

• nephling
• nibling

Derived terms

• cardinal nephew
• cardinal-nephew
• grandnephew
• great-great-nephew
• great-nephew
• half nephew
• half-nephew
• nephew fucker
• nephew-in-law
• step-nephew
• uterine nephew

 

Related terms

• nepotism
• neve
• niece
• nift

Translations

fraternal or sororal nephew — see also fraternal nephew,‎ sororal nephew

• Afrikaans: neef (af)
• Albanian: nip (sq) m
• Arabic: (fraternal) اِبْنُ أَخٍ m (ibnu ʔaḵin), (sororal) اِبْنُ أُخْتٍ (ibnu ʔuḵtin)

  Egyptian Arabic: ابن أخ m (ebn ʔaḵḵ), ابن أخت m (ebn ʔoḵt)

• Armenian: (fraternal) եղբորորդի (hy) (eġborordi), (fraternal) եղբոր տղա (eġbor tġa), (sororal) քրոջ որդի (kʻroǰ ordi), (sororal) քրոջ տղա (kʻroǰ tġa)
• Aromanian: nipot m
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܒܲܪ ܐܲܚܵܐ m (bar aḵā) (fraternal), ܒܲܪ ܚܵܬܵܐ m (bar ḵātā) (sororal)
• Asturian: sobrín (ast) m
• Basque: iloba (eu)
• Belarusian: пляме́ннік m (pljamjénnik)
• Bhojpuri: भतीजा (bhatījā)
• Bulgarian: пле́менник (bg) m (plémennik)
• Burmese: တူ (my) (tu)
• Catalan: nebot (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (fraternal) 姪／侄 (zh) (zhí), 姪子／侄子 (zh) (zhízǐ), (sororal) 外甥 (zh) (wàishēng)

• Czech: synovec (cs) m
• Dalmatian: nepaut m
• Danish: nevø (da) c
• Dutch: neef (nl) m
• Esperanto: nevo (eo)
• Estonian: (fraternal) vennapoeg, (sororal) õepoeg
• Faroese: bróðursonur m (fraternal), systursonur m (sororal)
• Finnish: (fraternal) veljenpoika (fi), (sororal) sisarenpoika (fi)
• French: neveu (fr) m
• Friulian: nevôt m
• Galician: sobriño (gl) m
• Georgian: (sororal) დისწული (disc̣uli), (fraternal) ძმისწული (ʒmisc̣uli)
• German: Neffe (de) m
• Greek: ανιψιός (el) m (anipsiós)

  Ancient: ἀδελφιδοῦς m (adelphidoûs)

• Greenlandic: soraluaq
• Haitian Creole: neve
• Hebrew: אחיין m (akhyán)
• Hindi: भतीजा (hi) m (bhatījā) (fraternal), भांजा (hi) m (bhāñjā) (sororal)
• Hungarian: unokaöcs (hu)
• Icelandic: (fraternal) bróðursonur (is) m, (sororal) systursonur (is) m
• Ido: nevulo (io)
• Ilocano: kaanakan a lalaki
• Indonesian: keponakan (id), kemenakan (id), misan (id) (either nephew or niece)
• Ingrian: plemmäänikka
• Irish: nia m

  Old Irish: nïa m

• Italian: nipote (it) m
• Japanese: 甥 (ja) (おい, oi)
• Kashmiri: (fraternal) باپتھٕر (ks) (bāpthụr), (fraternal) بابتھٕر (ks) (bābthụr), (sororal) بؠنتھٕر (ks) (byanthụr)
• Korean: 조카 (ko) (joka)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: (brother's son or daughter) بِرازا (ckb) (biraza)

• Ladino: sovrino m
• Latin: sobrinus (la) (sororal nephew), fratruelis (la) (fraternal nephew or niece), filius fratris m (fraternal nephew), filius sororis m (sororal nephew), nepos (la) m
• Lithuanian: sūnėnas m
• Lombard: nevod (lmo) m
• Low German: (fraternal) Broderjung m, (fraternal) Brodersöhn m, (fraternal) Broderkind n, (sororal) Süsterjung m, (sororal) Swesterjung m, (sororal) Süstersöhn m, (sororal) Swestersöhn m, (sororal) Süsterkind n, (sororal) Swesterkind n
• Lutshootseed: staləł
• Macedonian: внук (mk) m (vnuk), бра́танец m (brátanec) (fraternal, dialectal), се́стричник m (séstričnik) (sororal, dialectal)
• Malay: anak saudara, anak saudara lelaki
• Maltese: neputi m, neputija f
• Maori: tamaiti whakaangi, irāmutu, tapairu
• Marathi: भाचा m (bhācā)
• Mauritian Creole: neve
• Middle English: nevew, neve
• Norman: n'veu m
• Northern Ohlone: méses
• Northern Sami: (fraternal) vieljabárdni, (sororal) oappábárdni
• Norwegian: nevø (no) m
• Occitan: nebot (oc) m
• Old English: nefa m
• Old Galician-Portuguese: sobrinho m
• Pennsylvania German: Neffyu m
• Plautdietsch: Plemmenikj m
• Polish: (fraternal) bratanek (pl) m, (sororal) siostrzeniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: sobrinho (pt) m
• Primitive Irish: ᚅᚔᚑᚈᚈᚐ (niotta)
• Quechua: kuncha
• Romanian: nepot (ro) m
• Romansch: nev, neiv, neav
• Russian: племя́нник (ru) m (plemjánnik)
• Sardinian: nebode, nebodi, nabode, nepode, nepote
• Scottish Gaelic: (fraternal) mac-bràthar (gd) m, (sororal) mac-peathar (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: (fraternal) братанац m, (fraternal) синовац m, (sororal) сестрић m, (either) нећак m

  Roman: (fraternal) bratanac (sh) m, (fraternal) sinovac (sh) m, (sororal) sestrić m, (either) nećak m

• Seri: (of a male) aac
• Seychellois Creole: neve
• Sicilian: niputi (scn) m
• Slovak: synovec (sk) m
• Slovene: nečak (sl) m
• Southern Altai: јеен (ǰeen)
• Spanish: sobrino (es) m
• Swahili: mpwa (sw)
• Swedish: nevö (sv) c, (fraternal) brorson (sv) c, (sororal) systerson (sv) c
• Tagalog: pamangking lalaki
• Taos: kìłuʼúna
• Tarifit: ayyaw m, tayyawt f
• Telugu: మేనల్లుడు (te) (mēnalluḍu)
• Thai: หลานชาย (lǎan-chaai)
• Turkish: erkek yeğen
• Ukrainian: племі́нник m (plemínnyk), не́біж (uk) m (nébiž)
• Urdu: بَھتِیجا m (bhatījā) (fraternal), بھان٘جا m (bhāñjā) (sororal)
• Venetan: nevódo m, neodo m
• Volapük: (fraternal or sororal, ♂♀) nef (vo), (fraternal or sororal) hinef (vo), (fraternal, ♂♀) blodanef, (fraternal) blodahinef, (fraternal) blodason (vo), (sororal, ♂♀) söranef, (sororal) sörahinef, (sororal) sörason (vo), (fraternal, ♂♀) blodacil (vo), (fraternal) blodahicil, (sororal, ♂♀) söracil (vo), (sororal) sörahicil
• Walloon: neveu (wa) m
• Welsh: nai (cy) m, neiaint (cy) m pl
• Yámana: yamana-maku
• Yiddish: פּלימעניק m (plimenik)

Further reading

• nephew on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Middle English

Noun

nephew

1. Alternative form of nevew