nephew

Meaning

1. A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).
2. A son of one's cousin or cousin-in-law
3. A son of one's child.

Synonyms

niece

brother’s son

sister’s son

grandson

son

stepson

uncle

child

🧒

brother-in-law

nephew-in-law

nibling

boy

👦

niece-in-law

offspring

sister

👩‍👧

son-in-law

stepchild

aunt

male cousin

son of one’s sister

HER sister’s son

daughter

daughter-in-law

descendant

grandchild

granddaughter

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈnɛf.ju/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nevew

Cognate with French: neveu

Cognate with Italian: nipote

Cognate with Middle English: neve

Cognate with Old English: nefa

Cognate with Dutch: neef

Cognate with German: Neffe

Cognate with Serbo-Croatian: nećak

Cognate with Irish: nia

Cognate with Persian: نوه

In summary

From Middle English nevew, neveu (“nephew, grandson”), from Old French neveu, from Latin nepos, nepōtem, from Proto-Italic *nepōts (“nephew, grandson”), whence also French neveu, Italian nipote. Displaced or absorbed the inherited English neve (“nephew, grandson, male cousin”), from Middle English neve, from Old English nefa, from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô (“nephew, grandson”), whence Dutch neef, German Neffe. All ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *népōts (“grandchild, sister's son”). Cognate with Serbo-Croatian nećak, Irish nia, Persian نوه (nave).
Spelt with -ph- by readaptation to Latin nepos since the 15th century, which later triggered the spelling pronunciation with /f/.