Save Gender Feminine Usage Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Literature Pronounced Pron. /ˈni.ve.a/(Latin American Spanish) [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Latin niveus meaning "snow-white" (itself from nivis, "of snow"). It was used by Peruvian author Isabel Allende for a character in her novel 'La casa de los espíritus' (1982).