Etymology

denigrate

den·i·grate
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Today it means: To criticize so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame. Full definition →

Latin dēnigrātus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromdēnigrātus
  2. English todaydenigrate

Derived from Latin dēnigrātus, the perfect passive participle of dēnigrō (“to blacken”) [see -ate (verb-forming suffix)], from dē- (“of; from”) + nigrō (“to blacken”) [from niger (“black”)]. Cognate with Middle English denigart(e) (“darkened, discolored”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.