niece

[nees]

noun

1. a daughter of a person's brother or sister.

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

niece

/ niːs /

noun

1. a daughter of one's sister or brother

Word History and Origins

Origin of niece¹

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; nephew

Word History and Origins

Origin of niece¹

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

Example Sentences

He was an uncle to more than 20 nieces and nephews.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“What are we going to tell our nieces and nephews who think they’re going to get some money? Well, you’re only going to get…” and she trails off.

Read more on Barron's

“What are we going to tell our nieces and nephews who think they’re going to get some money? Well, you’re only going to get…” and she trails off.

Read more on Barron's

"My brothers in the Gulf bought land in Rafah to come back and settle as well. My son, and my nephews and nieces - they want to go back."

Read more on BBC

Antony says he was deeply moved by his niece's decision to honour their long-lost family.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• aunt 
• cousin 
• father 
• folk 
• mother 
• sibling 
• uncle 

When To Use

Spelling tips for niece

The word niece is hard to spell because it can be hard to remember the order of the i and e. Sometimes people want to spell it neice, which is incorrect.How to spell niece: The easiest way to remember how to spell niece is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C."