Is "niece and nephew" preferred over "nephew and niece", or vice versa?
I tried using Google NGrams, but it gave inconclusive results: one was more common before 1980, then the other form became more common.
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You mean in terms of style? – Mar 01 '17 at 11:11
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Usually the longer word precedes the shorter one. But this is not a fixed phrase, or a typical binomial pair/Siamese/freeze – Mari-Lou A Mar 01 '17 at 11:20
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Related: What is the rule that describes the usage of “or” between multiple adjectives describing the same noun? and “pros and cons”, “black and white”,etc. – Mari-Lou A Mar 01 '17 at 11:22
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Masculine terms used to precede feminine ones, but no more. – Mar 01 '17 at 11:23
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1To me, it's a question of which cadence sounds nicer. The one syllable word before the two syllable word sounds better, somewhat a sense that the two syllable word is weightier and makes a better bookend at the end of the expression. In Mari-Lou's answer, making them plural terms makes them both two syllables, which changes the cadence. – fixer1234 Mar 01 '17 at 16:49
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How is 'then the other form became more common.' inconclusive? – Edwin Ashworth Mar 02 '17 at 00:16
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I searched for the plural equivalent of niece and nephew: Google Ngram shows that nephews and nieces used to be the most popular sequence but since the 1980s that dramatic divergence has narrowed considerably.
From the 1800s until the mid 1980s, the dominant order for the singular form used to be nephew and niece, but the gap has decreased steadily ever since, and around the 1990s, the order niece and nephew has became marginally more popular.
All of which suggest that the binomial order is no longer irreversible and today the order of preference is totally arbitrary.
Mari-Lou A
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@Josh The Op is asking which order is preferred, not "why". Anyway, I need to edit, but I don't have the time now. later on. – Mari-Lou A Mar 01 '17 at 15:44
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OP is actually asking 'Is "niece and nephew" preferred over "nephew and niece", or vice versa?' so why should they have searched for 'nephews and nieces'? – Edwin Ashworth Mar 02 '17 at 00:15
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But it seems incongruous (and I'm hedging) to respond 'OP is asking which order is preferred, not "why" ' while adjusting their question in a different way. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 02 '17 at 00:42
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Essentially, OP has addressed the overt question himself. fixer1234 gave a different perspective. In a comment. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 02 '17 at 00:50
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@Mari-Lou A fixer1234 gave a different perspective in a comment. I've now close-voted because OP didn't even link to the two relevant Ngrams, and hasn't come back on 'Why isn't the Ngram data an answer, [even if not one we can be sure reflects the true situation exactly]?' – Edwin Ashworth Mar 02 '17 at 12:22