nephew
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈnɛv.ju//
- //ˈnɛf.ju//
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).
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
archaicA son of one's child.
Hir father many a time and oft would say my daughter deere, Of Nephewes thou my debtour art, their Graundsires heart to chéere.
- 4
Descendant
On that day Adam shall see all his nephews together
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). Doublet of neve. Spelt with -ph- by readaptation to Latin nepos since the 15th century, which later triggered the spelling pronunciation with /f/.
Forms
- plural
- nephews
nephew · 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).
Nephew · A surname.Neptune · The eighth planet in our solar system, represented in…nerd · A person who is intellectual but generally introverted.