niece

[ nees ]
See synonyms for niece on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a daughter of a person's brother or sister.

  2. a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.

Origin of niece

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English nece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin neptia (unrecorded), from Latin neptis “granddaughter”; replacing Middle English nifte, Old English nift; cognate with Old Frisian, Old High German nift, Dutch nicht, Old Norse nipt; akin to Lithuanian neptė̃, Sanskrit naptī; cf. nephew

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use niece in a sentence

  • He was living there in modest retirement with his mother and his two good-looking young nieces, who served us at table.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • But she did not understand or care for children, and the charge of her nieces and nephew she only accepted as a duty.

    Robin Redbreast | Mary Louisa Molesworth
  • Yet this sounds too severe on Miss Mildmay, who in her own undemonstrative way did love her nephew and nieces.

    Robin Redbreast | Mary Louisa Molesworth
  • Mind that none of my nephews or nieces expend any fraction of their guineas on presents for me.

    A Thin Ghost and Others | M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
  • Miss Mildmay sent it on by a special messenger, knowing how anxious her nieces would be to get their letters.

    Robin Redbreast | Mary Louisa Molesworth

British Dictionary definitions for niece

niece

/ (niːs) /


noun
  1. a daughter of one's sister or brother

Origin of niece

1
C13: from Old French niece granddaughter, ultimately from Latin neptis granddaughter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012