Neffe

Meaning

1. (masculine, weak) nephew (son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law)
2. (masculine, obsolete, weak) another male relative, especially a grandson, but also a cousin etc.

Concepts

nephew

brother-in-law

niece

nibling

Synonyms

Nichte

Brudersohn

Schwestersohn

Schwestertochter

Brudertochter

Translations

neveu

sobrino

sobrinho

nipote

neef

nebot

yeğen

oomzegger

ανιψιός

erkek yeğen

ανεψιός

filius sororis

filius fratris

Dialects

Basel-Landschaft

newee

Basel-Landschaft

neewee

Basel-Landschaft

nöwöö

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈnɛfə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: neve

Inherited from Old High German: nefo

Cognate with Dutch: neef

Cognate with English: neve

In summary

From Middle High German neve, from Old High German nefo, nevo, from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô. Cognate with Dutch neef, obsolete English neve. Further from Proto-Indo-European *népōts, whence English nephew, which see for more.
The form with -ff- is irregular and was spread by Luther. The development -v- → -ff- before a sonorant (here the n of the inflected forms) is also found in Early Modern German Offen, Freffel for Ofen, Frevel, and frequently in Low German; compare Middle Low German effen, gaffel, neffel, neffen for even, gavel, nevel, neven (the last in the sense of “next to”).

Sentences

Er war der Neffe des berühmten Architekten Gottfried Semper.

He was the nephew of the famous architect Gottfried Semper.