Where does “niece” come from?
niece (Swedish) comes from French nièce, from Middle French niepce, from Old French niece, from Latin neptia, from Latin neptis, from Proto-Indo-European néptih₂, from Proto-Indo-European -ih₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
niece (Swedish): niece
Ancestry of “niece”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | nièce | niece |
| 2 | Middle French | niepce | — |
| 3 | Old French | niece | niece |
| 4 | Latin | neptia | — |
| 5 | Latin | neptis | granddaughter |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | néptih₂ | granddaughter; niece |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ih₂ | Feminizes athematic nominal stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |