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neve

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neve¹

  • /niːv/

Rhymes with -iːv

Where it comes from

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.

noun neves

  1. obsolete, rare Nephew. 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.
  2. obsolete, rare A 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.
  3. obsolete, rare A grandson.
  4. rare A spendthrift.

Neve²

Rhymes with -iːv

Where it comes from

* 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”).

proper noun Neves · Neave · Neaves · Neeve · Neeves

  1. A surname from Middle English.

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Cite this
MLA

"neve." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/neve. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

neve. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/neve

Chicago

"neve." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/neve.

BibTeX
@misc{neve_2026,
  title = {neve},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/neve},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}