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

Yeoh added that she felt blessed to also have a number of godchildren, nieces and nephews.

From BBC

He added he has six sisters and nieces and would not defend such actions if they had occurred.

From BBC

She’d just filmed her first professional job — playing Queen Latifah’s niece in “Barbershop 2,” a role she auditioned for at an open call in Chicago — and MGM invited her to the Hollywood premiere.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s lots of nieces and nephews in need of support.

From Los Angeles Times

Jade Campbell, Ms McGowan's niece, was with her when she died.

From BBC

Related Words

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

How Do You Spell Niece?

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.”