niece
UK[niːs]US[niːs]
n
a daughter of your brother or sister, or a daughter of your husband's or wife's brother or sister.
Etymology
the word "niece" entered english in the 14th century from the old french "niece," which itself came from the latin "neptis," meaning granddaughter or niece. this latin term is the feminine form of "nepos," which originally meant descendant, grandson, or nephew, tracing back to the proto-indo-european root nepōt-, signifying a close junior relative. over time, the meaning narrowed in english to specify the female child of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, paralleling the semantic specialization of its masculine counterpart, "nephew."
Analysis
the word is a simplex form. it is a loanword from old french, ultimately derived from latin.
Examples
my niece is coming to stay with us for the summer holidays.
she loves being an aunt and spoils her young niece.
he left a small inheritance to his niece.