noun
neve
neev
noun
1
An old, now largely obsolete word for a nephew, grandson, or male cousin.
"In the will, the estate passed to his neve rather than his own children."
How to Use Neve
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn archaic term meaning roughly what "nephew" means today, though it originally covered grandsons and cousins too.
Common mistake
Don't confuse this obsolete kinship word with the unrelated glacier-science term "névé" (compacted granular snow) — they're spelled almost the same but come from completely different origins.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
neves plural, Neves plural
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In the will, the estate passed to his _____ rather than his own children.
Etymology
From Old English nefa ("nephew, grandson"), the same root that eventually gave English "nephew" — "neve" simply fell out of everyday use as "nephew" took over.