English word origin

Etymology of nee

From Old English ne or nā (“no”). Cognate with Standard English no.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

intj

no, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like German kein/Dutch geen/French rien. Compare with na.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English ne or nā (“no”). Cognate with Standard English no.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionneang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ne"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ne",
      "ne#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "nā",
      "na#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Standard English",
      "Standard English"
    ],
    [
      "no",
      "no#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "no, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like German kein/Dutch geen/French rien. Compare with na."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Geordie"
      ],
      "recordId": "0c94c6fe722e562b7004c5a41fe659983692d32a0be7bf4cad532d0ae5c74670",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d1a89dcd9923d4b8f11801cc9b263ddd33b812bc51c6320e65beb06b34f75556",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165582
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Alternative spelling of née.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From French née, feminine of né, past participle of naître, to be born.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionnéefr

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "née"
      },
      "expansion": "French née"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "née",
      "née#French"
    ],
    [
      "né",
      "né#French"
    ],
    [
      "naître",
      "naître#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of née."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "b4c560b316d42d3139a8f29045ec9c428bf45a3ce943a3912991d41e8b8dc3b4",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165580
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  ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Used when giving a former name. Originally known as.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From French née (“(f)”) and né (“(m)”), past participle of naître, to be born. Mix of both gendered terms due to their homophony, resulting in a unisex term in English.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "French"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "née",
      "née#French"
    ],
    [
      "né",
      "né#French"
    ],
    [
      "naître",
      "naître#French"
    ],
    [
      "homophony",
      "homophony"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Used when giving a former name. Originally known as."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "English",
        "North-American",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for nee →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bmVl