Neffe

See also: neffe

German

Alternative forms
  • Nefe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German neve, from Old High German nefo, nevo, from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô. Cognate with Dutch neef, obsolete English neve. Further from Proto-Indo-European *népōts, whence English nephew, which see for more.

The form with -ff- is irregular and was spread by Luther. The development -v- → -ff- before a sonorant (here the n of the inflected forms) is also found in Early Modern German Offen, Freffel for Ofen, Frevel, and frequently in Low German; compare Middle Low German effen, gaffel, neffel, neffen for even, gavel, nevel, neven (the last in the sense of “next to”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈnɛfə/
  • audio(file)

Noun

Neffe m (weak, genitive Neffen, plural Neffen, feminine Nichte)

  1. nephew (son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law)
  2. (obsolete) another male relative, especially a grandson, but also a cousin etc.

Declension
Declension of Neffe [masculine, weak]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Neffe die Neffen
genitive eines des Neffen der Neffen
dative einem dem Neffen den Neffen
accusative einen den Neffen die Neffen

Descendants
  • →? German Low German: Neffe

Further reading
  • “Neffe” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “Neffe” in Duden online
  • “Neffe” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
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