Dictionary

nevvy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnɛvi/

Etymology

Possibly from neve and/or nephew + -y, but compare (now mostly obsolete) widespread dialectal forms such as /ˈɑːɡi/, /ˈɑɹɡi/ argy (“argue”) and /ˈvali/, /ˈvæli/ vally (“value”) with /i/ for unstressed standard English /juː/.

Meanings

1. (UK, colloquial, dialectal) A nephew.
   • What signifies your sisters’ bits o’ money when they’ve got half-a-dozen nevvies and nieces to divide it among? 1860, George Eliot, chapter VI, in The Mill on the Floss, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons:
2. (UK, dialectal) A grandson.

Forms