nephew

nephew
nephew (n.) c.1300, from O.Fr. neveu (O.N.Fr. nevu) "grandson, descendant," from L. nepotem (nom. nepos) "sister's son, grandson, descendant," in post-Augustan Latin, "nephew," from PIE *nepot- "grandchild," and in a general sense, "male descendant other than son" (Cf. Skt. napat "grandson, descendant;" O.Pers. napat- "grandson;" O.Lith. nepuotis "grandson;" Du. neef; Ger. Neffe "nephew;" O.Ir. nia, gen. niath "son of a sister," Welsh nei). Used in English in all the classical senses until meaning narrowed in 17c., and also as a euphemism for "the illegitimate son of an ecclesiastic" (1580s). The Old English cognate, nefa "nephew, stepson, grandson, second cousin" survived to 16c.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nephew — Pays d’origine Århus, Danemark Genre musical Rock alternatif, Electro rock Années d activité de 1996 à aujourd’hui Labels Martian Records (1998 2003), Copenhagen Records (2003 aujourd’hui) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nephew — на Roskilde Festival 2010 …   Википедия

  • Nephew — is a term referring to the son of one s sibling. Sons of siblings in law are also informally referred to as nephews, even though there is no blood relation. The word nephew is derived from the French word neveu .* Nephew = son of your sister or… …   Wikipedia

  • Nephew — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Rock Gründung 1996 Website http://www.nephew.dk/ …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • nephew — ► NOUN ▪ a son of one s brother or sister, or of one s brother in law or sister in law. ORIGIN Old French neveu, from Latin nepos grandson, nephew …   English terms dictionary

  • nephew — [nef′yo͞o; ] chiefly Brit [, nev′yo͞o] n. [ME neveu < OFr < L nepos < IE base * nepot , grandson, nephew > Sans napat, OE nefa] 1. a) the son of one s brother or sister b) the son of one s brother in law or sister in law 2. an… …   English World dictionary

  • Nephew — Neph ew (n[e^]f [ u]; in England n[e^]v [ u]; 277), n. [OE. neveu, nevou, nevu, fr. F. neveu, OF. also, nevou, L. nepos; akin to AS. nefa, D. neef, G. neffe, OHG. nevo, Icel. nefi a kinsman, Gr. ne podes, pl., brood, young, Skr. nep[=a]t grandson …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nephew — [13] Nephew goes back ultimately to Indo European *nepōt , which denoted a range of indirect male descendants, including ‘grandson’ and ‘nephew’. Among its offspring were Greek anepsiós ‘nephew’, Sanskrit nápāt ‘grandson’, Germanic *nebon (source …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • nephew — [13] Nephew goes back ultimately to Indo European *nepōt , which denoted a range of indirect male descendants, including ‘grandson’ and ‘nephew’. Among its offspring were Greek anepsiós ‘nephew’, Sanskrit nápāt ‘grandson’, Germanic *nebon (source …   Word origins

  • Nephew —    There may be some uncles and aunts who address nephews by this term in modern times, but such vocative usage is mostly obsolete. It occurs regularly in the literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however. Upper middle class… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”