Etymograph

English

nee

Nee comes from Old French né, from Latin nātus ‘born, arisen, made’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to beget, give birth’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to beget, give birth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tós1‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātos1‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāscor2‘to be born’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātus1‘born, arisen, made’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400né1
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentné3as née
  8. Englishtodaynee3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French né
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin natus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English nee

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, French né‘to beget, give birth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tósWiktionary, French né‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātosWiktionary, French né‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāscorWiktionary, Latin natus‘to be born’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātusWiktionary, French né‘born, arisen, made’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400néWiktionary, French né
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentnéWiktionary, English neeas née
  8. EnglishtodayneeWiktionary, English nee

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to beget, give birth’

kind, king, general, german, nation, generation, gender, engine, genius, oxygen, ken, genre, gentle, indigenous, genuine, genetic, hydrogen, generate, generous, genocide, gene, genus, kin, genital, ingenious, germ, gentile, janata, gens, puny, glycogen, genial, gingerly, genitive, jaunty, genteel, azadi, nomen, estrogenic, 100 more

through Proto-Italic *gnātos ‘born’

cognate, 5 more

through Latin nāscor ‘to be born’

nature, pregnant, innate, nascent, renate, 9 more

through Latin nātus ‘born, arisen, made’

natural, native, naive, noel, natal, nativity, nada, 5 more

Another origin of nee

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ne
  2. Englishtodaynee

Today it means

adj —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nee”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for French né, Latin natus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / nee

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