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

Truong My Lan's husband and niece received jail terms of nine and 17 years respectively.

From BBC

Gilbert, who is Ferber’s niece as well as an accomplished writer, details director George Stevens’ struggle to convince Ferber to write a screenplay, as well as how the lavish production changed tiny Marfa, Texas, forever.

From Los Angeles Times

A death notice for Ms Ferris described her as a "beloved daughter" and "much loved" sister aunt, niece, and cousin.

From BBC

His niece spoke out on Friday about her family's pride in her uncle and said they are still trying to process his sudden death.

From BBC

He is survived by husband Curtis and a handful of nieces and nephews.

From Los Angeles Times

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.”