nephew, noun
- Origin:
- English, AfrikaansShow more Special sense of general English, influenced by Afrikaans neef cousin, nephew, used loosely of any young man.
obs.
- Note:
- Usually used to suggest the idiom of Afrikaans-speakers.
a. neef sense 1. Also in the phrase the nephew, substituted for the second person pronoun ‘you’, reflecting a respectful form of address in Afrikaans (see quotation 1900).
1900 H. Blore Imp. Light Horseman 213He had met everybody there but me before, and as formal introductions are unknown among the Boers, after we had solemnly shaken hands all round and begun the repast, he addressed me with the query, ‘How is the nephew called?’
1940 F.B. Young City of Gold 198‘Who’s that you’re talking to, nephew?’ the Veld-kornet said. ‘He’s not one of our men.’
b. neef sense 2.
1944 C.R. Prance Under Blue Roof 150Nephew Piet might be uncle-by-marriage to his own Uncle Karel’s second wife, so that nephew and uncle might reasonably address each other indifferently as ‘Oom’ or ‘Neef’.
neef sense 1. Also in the phrase the nephew, substituted for the second person pronoun ‘you’, reflecting a respectful form of address in Afrikaans (see quotation 1900).
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