NEE is often the answer to the crossword clue
[Formerly] or [Born: Fr.]
NEE, which was [Born as] a French word, usually retains its accent when written in English, appearing in both languages as née.
In French née is used as a female part participle of the verb naître, meaning [Born], in the sense like “Marie Antoinette wasn’t born yesterday.” English uses née as an adjective, the way you’d see [Born, in bios], or as a [Wedding page word] meaning [Formerly called]. So “born” in the sense of “Marie Antoinette was born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna.”
Ironically, it appears as both [At birth] and [Obituary word]–the latter adding a macabre twist to the clue [Formerly known as].
To clue NEE, crossword puzzles may follow the word’s usage and try to clarify things with easy clues
- Maiden name preceder
- Formerly
- Genealogy word
- At birth
- Once known as
- Born: Fr.
- Originally
- Alumna bio word
- Hillary Clinton ___ Rodham
But to make solvers think they’re [Miss given?] about NEE, crossword puzzles might use a tag like:
- Miss-named?
- Born this way?
- Introduction to a former self?
- Born and bred?
- Miss appropriation?
- Prenuptial?
- Name-dropper’s word?
- Miss-identification
- French born?
- Born abroad?
- Born on the bayou?
Called on your birthday?
Matt Gaffney, The Wall Street Journal – Dec 20, 2019
