niece Hear it!

niece Definition

niece (nēs)

noun

  1. the daughter of one's brother or sister
  2. the daughter of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law
  3. an illegitimate daughter, as of a medieval prelate: a euphemism

Etymology: ME nece < OFr niece < LL neptia < L neptis, granddaughter, niece, akin to nepos, nephew

niece Synonyms

niece

n.

sister's daughter, brother's daughter, niece by marriage, grandniece, daughter of a brother-in-law, daughter of a sister-in-law; see also nephew, relative.

niece Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • marry: At the end of the war, Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, married the niece of the leader of the Yorks.
  • have: I have a niece named Kate; I must show her your home page soon.
  • include: In the spring of 1840, the Campbells, including niece Virginia, returned to Abingdon.
  • orphan: Then there was the orphaned niece who lived with him and used the Long Gallery as her playroom.
  • love: A great gift for a special, loved niece.
  • use: Then there was Miss Dixon at Wansfell Tower - her niece used to come round with muffins in a basket.

Adjective modifier

  • old: Her 5 month old niece Erin will be next to come along!
  • young: Learning something from my youngest niece about dress sense.
  • beautiful: Christopher spends a lot of time with Koman and his beautiful, unhappy niece Radha.
  • great: Within a few hours I had received a reply from Jane Swyer, Richard's great niece!
  • little: A few days ago, I thought I'd found the perfect Christmas gift for my little nieces in India.
  • own: To get the character right, Emma modeled her on her own niece.

Modifies a noun

  • living: Y Do you have any brothers, sisters, nephews or nieces living?

Noun used with modifier

  • great-great: It was William's great-great niece, Edwina Ashley, who married Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

Possessives

  • husband: I do know it existed in the 70's and 80's as my wife's niece's husband was in it.
  • wedding: Alice, herself an able musician, had attempted a setting of the hymn for a niece's wedding.
  • birthday: I'm buying it again as a gift for my niece's 12th birthday.

Possessives

  • wife: I do know it existed in the 70's and 80's as my wife's niece 's husband was in it.
  • author: From the library of Ludi Horenstein, the author's late niece.

Preposition: by

  • marriage: The heroine of the story was niece by marriage of the latter.
niece Quotes

In a Lancashire cotton-town you could probably go for months on end without once hearing an'educated' accent, whereas there can hardly be a town in the South of England where youcould throwa brick without hitting the niece of a bishop.

—Orwell, George pseudonym of  Eric Arthur Blair

Browse dictionary entries near niece

  1. Niebuhr
  2. Nidwalden
  3. nidus
  4. nidify
  5. nidifugous
  6. nidicolous
  7. nide
  8. niddering
  9. NID
  10. nictitating membrane
  1. Niedersachsen
  2. niello
  3. nielsbohrium
  4. Nielsen
  5. Nielsen, A.C.
  6. Niemöller
  7. Niemeyer
  8. Niersteiner
  9. Nietzsche
  10. nieve