ENGLISH
REFERENCE

niece

n.
US //ˈnis// UK //nˈiːs// niece
  1. 1 daughter of a sibling (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    the daughter of your brother or sister; also the daughter of your husband's or wife's sibling.

    the female child of one's sibling or sibling-in-law.

    Example

    My niece is five years old and loves drawing pictures for her parents.

    Example

    She took her niece to the zoo for her birthday, enjoying the chance to spend quality time with her brother's eldest daughter.
    Pitfall
    My niece is the son of my sister.
    My nephew is the son of my sister.

    Use 'niece' for a girl and 'nephew' for a boy.

  2. 2 daughter of a cousin (n.)
    C1 Advanced Informal

    the daughter of your cousin.

    the daughter of one's cousin; more precisely termed a 'first cousin once removed' in formal genealogy.

    Example

    In some families, people call their cousin's daughter their niece.

    Example

    While technically his first cousin once removed, he always referred to her as his niece due to their significant age difference.

    Usage

    This usage is common in many cultures but is technically inaccurate in formal English genealogy.

    Teacher's tip

    Learners should be aware that while 'niece' usually means a sibling's daughter, some native speakers use it loosely for younger female relatives.

Origin

From Middle English nece (“niece, granddaughter”), from Old French nece (“niece, granddaughter”) (Modern French nièce (“niece”)) from Late Latin neptia, representing Latin neptis (“granddaughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *néptih₂ (“granddaughter, niece”). Doublet of nift.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026