niece
Americannoun
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a daughter of a person's brother or sister.
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a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.
noun
Usage
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."
Etymology
Origin of niece
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Now I’ll go have tea with the other Turkish ladies, and you can rest, my dear niece. I’m sure you’re tired.”
From Literature
Irons was described as a "beautiful, loving and caring daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend" by her family.
From BBC
His niece, the daughter of Ms Nazarova, was also in the house and had to be rescued by firefighters after a headboard was placed to block her door.
From BBC
Ryan Tsui, whose brother and niece died in the sinking, previously said he followed the case with "incredulity" as he said witnesses dodged responsibility.
From Barron's
"My nieces are crying for their father - they are asking me why he is late to come home. What should I tell them? How can I tell them that their father is gone?"
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
