nēfa
The Old English word for cousin is nēfa.
The term refers to the child of a person's parent's brother or sister.
Meaning: child of a person’s parent’s brother or sister (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In the accusative case, the form remains nēfa. To say 'of a cousin', use the genitive singular form nēfes. The plural form is nēfan, and when you want to say 'to/for cousins', use the dative plural form nēfum.
Did you know?
- Old English had a distinct set of words for kinship that differentiated between maternal and paternal relatives. Using nēfa was part of a complex system where the specific side of the family often mattered legally.
- In Old English poetry, words like nēfa were often used in 'alliterative verse' to link characters. The consonant sounds helped create the rhythmic structure of epic poems like Beowulf.
- The word nēfa is a linguistic relative of the modern English word 'nephew'.
Examples in context
- Iċ þē lufie, mīn nēfa.I love you, my cousin.
Example conversation
Mildryth and Eadric are talking about a relative visiting the village.
- MildrythHwēr is þīn nēfa?Where is your cousin?
- EadricHē is on þām hūse.He is in the house.
- MildrythIs hē gōd nēfa?Is he a good cousin?
- EadricGēa, hē is swīðe gōd.Yes, he is very good.
