neve

N1E1V4E1
/niːv/

noun

Nephew.

OriginMiddle English neve ← Old English nefa ← Proto-West Germanic *nefō →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

neve1

nounneve (plural neves)

plural neves

  1. obsoleterareNephew.

    Iwein considers it his right and duty to avenge his neve, and is much exercised when Artûs proposes to go to the well with his full strength, for he apprehends that the king will give the distinction of the combat to his sister's son Gâwein.

    1920, Wilhelm Robert Richard Pinger, Laurence Sterne and Goethe
  2. obsoleterareA male cousin.

    Still another passenger on the same ship was Gysbert Philips from Velthuysen, 24 years old, a "neve" ( nephew or cousin) of Cornelia Wynkoop.

    1988, Michael Tepper, New World immigrants
  3. obsoleterareA grandson.
  4. rareA spendthrift.

Neve2

proper nounNeve (plural Neves)

plural Neves · alternative Neave · alternative Neaves · alternative Neeve · alternative Neeves

  1. A surname from Middle English.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
grandsonnephewprodigalprofligatespendthriftwaster

Origin

neve · noun

  1. Old Frenchneveu
  2. Proto-Indo-European*népōts
  3. Proto-Germanic*nefô“nephew”
  4. Proto-West Germanic*nefō
  5. Old Englishnefa“nephew, grandson”
  6. Middle Englishneve
  7. Englishneve

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.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Neve · proper noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*nefô“nephew”
  2. EnglishNeve

* 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”).

More words from Proto-Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with neve

receivebelieveleavesteveachieveevesleeveretrievebreatherelieveperceiveYvesweavenaiveconceiveLIVreevedeceivegrievekyivcleaveheavebreveLviv
All rhymes →

Anagrams

eveneevn
Cite this entry
APA

neve. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neve

MLA

“neve.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neve. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neve,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neve.

Source: neve on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.