| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| née, nee (adj.) |
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| appears in American English both with and without the acute accent of its original French. It is the feminine past participle of the French verb meaning “to be born” and so indicates a woman’s maiden name (Mary Smith-Jones, née Smith). Extended use sometimes has it mean “formerly known as” and applies it to the original names of men and women whose aliases or pen or stage names are more widely known than their original ones (Leon Trotsky, né Lev Davidovich Bronstein; Dame Margot Fonteyn, née Margaret Hookham; it has even been stretched to include place names (Cape of Good Hope, née Cape of Storms). Conservative editors usually would prefer originally, once, or even aka to these extended uses. Pronunciation of née rhymes with either say or see, although the latter bothers many who know French. See FOREIGN PHRASES. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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