Etymology

neger

N1E1G2E1R1

Today it means: Synonym of negro or nigger. Full definition →

First used 16th c.Middle French nègre ← Spanish and Portuguese negro ← Latin niger
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromniger
  2. Spanish and Portuguese · derived fromnegro
  3. Middle French · borrowed fromnègre
  4. English todayneger

Borrowed from Middle French nègre, from Spanish and Portuguese negro, ultimately from Latin niger. Doublet of negro and noir.

Words from the same roots

Latinniger all →

nigerannigranilinenigrinenigritenigrosine

First known use, by meaning

  • from 16th c. Synonym of negro or nigger.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.