niece
/niːs
/noun
A daughter of one’s brother or sister, or of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law.Gerry is survived by his brothers, sister, nieces, nephews and other relatives....
- The same level applies to other close family relations, such as brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews.
- She is survived by her brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and other relatives.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin neptis 'granddaughter', feminine of nepos 'nephew, grandson' (see nephew), from an Indo-European root shared by Dutch nicht, German Nichte.
nephew from Middle English:
A nephew could originally also be a grandson—the word nephew comes via Old French neveu, from Latin nepos ‘nephew, grandson’. Nepotism (mid 17th century), or favouritism towards friends or relations, also comes from nepos. The reference is to privileged treatment formerly given to the ‘nephews’ of popes, who were in many cases their illegitimate sons. Niece (Middle English) comes from Latin neptis the feminine form of nepos.