neve

neve · noun¹

1. Old French · derived fromneveu
2. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*népōts
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*nefô“nephew”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*nefō
5. Old English · inherited fromnefa“nephew, grandson”
6. Middle English · inherited fromneve
7. English todayneve

From Middle English neve, neave, from Old English nefa (“nephew, grandson”), from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô (“nephew”), from Proto-Indo-European *népōts. Today mostly displaced by its cognate nephew (from Old French neveu). Compare nift (“niece”). Doublet of nephew.

Neve · proper noun²

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*nefô“nephew”
2. English todayNeve

* As an English, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish surname, from a descendant of Proto-Germanic *nefô (“nephew”). * As a French surname, from the placename En Nève, from En ève (“in water”), corresponding to modern en eau. * As an Italian, Portuguese, and Galician surname, from or related to neve (“snow”).

Words from the same roots