Meanings
niger1
Niger2
- A country in West Africa, situated to the north of Nigeria. Official name: Republic of the Niger.
An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday.
2023 March 20, Kylie Atwood, “American citizen held hostage for 6 years in West Africa has been freed”, in CNN - A major river in West Africa that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria.
From here we can see the River Niger in the distance running across town, a long gleaming diamond in the horizon.
2023, Stephen Buoro, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, Bloomsbury Circus, page 290 - A state of Nigeria in the North Central geopolitical zone. Capital and largest city: Minna.
Gunshots rang out in the capital Abuja and also in the neighboring Niger state as police lobbed tear gas to disperse defiant protesters. In Niger, at least six people are now feared dead, local media reported.
2024 August 1, Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari, “Violence erupts as Nigerians protest hunger across the nation”, in CNN
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
niger · noun
- LatinNigris
- Englishniger
From the name of the Niger River, from Latin Nigris. See further etymology at Niger.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Niger · proper noun
- Tuaregn'igherren?
- Latinnigerinflu.
- FrenchNiger
- EnglishNiger
Borrowed from French Niger. For further etymology, commonly linked by folk etymology to Latin niger (“black”), which likely influenced the modern spelling. Some sources give the term to Tuareg roots, deriving it from a claimed gher n-gheren or egereou n-igereouen (“river of rivers”). Compare Tarifit iɣzar-n-iɣezran. Older sources derive Niger, via a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, from Ptolemy's descriptions of the wadi Gir (in modern Algeria) and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Niger, Nigerrivier
- Nigercountry
- Nigerrivierriver
Arabic النِّيجَر
- النِّيجَر (an-nījar)country
Bengali নাইজার
- নাইজার (naijar)country
Bulgarian Ни́гер, Ни́гер
- Ни́гер (Níger)country
- Ни́гер (Níger)river
Chinese Mandarin 尼日爾 /尼日尔, 尼日
- 尼日爾 /尼日尔 (Nírì'ěr)country
- 尼日 (Nírì)country
- 尼日爾河 /尼日尔河 (Nírì'ěr Hé)river
Czech Niger
- Nigercountry
Danish Niger
- Nigercountry
Dutch Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
Esperanto Niĝero, Niĝerlando
- Niĝerocountry
- Niĝerlandocountry
- Niĝeroriver
Estonian Niger
- Nigercountry
Finnish Niger
- Nigercountry
French Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
German Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
Greek Νίγηρας, Νίγηρας
- Νίγηρας (Nígiras)country
- Νίγηρας (Nígiras)river
Hebrew ניז׳ר
- ניז׳ר (nijer)country
Hindi नाइजर
- नाइजर (nāijar)country
Hungarian Niger
- Nigercountry
Icelandic Níger, Nígerfljót
- Nígercountry
- Nígerfljótriver
Irish An Nígir, Poblacht na Nígire
- An Nígircountry
- Poblacht na Nígirecountry
Italian Niger
- Nigercountry
Japanese ニジェール, ニジェール
- ニジェール (Nijēru)country
- ニジェール (Nijēru)river
Korean 니제르
- 니제르 (Nijereu)country
Latvian Nigēra
- Nigēracountry
Lithuanian Nigeris, Nigeris
- Nigeriscountry
- Nigerisriver
Māori Ngāika
- Ngāikacountry
Norwegian Bokmål Niger
- Nigercountry
Persian نیجِر
- نیجِر (nijer)country
Polish Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
Portuguese Níger, Níger
- Nígercountry
- Nígerriver
Romanian Niger
- Nigercountry
Russian Ни́гер, Ниге́р
- Ни́гер (Níger)country
- Ниге́р (Nigér)country
Slovak Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
Spanish Níger
- Nígercountry
Swahili Nijeri
- Nijericountry
Swedish Niger, Niger
- Nigercountry
- Nigerriver
Tagalog Niher
- Nihercountry
Thai ไนเจอร์
- ไนเจอร์ (nai-jə̂ə)country
Turkish Nijer, Nijer
- Nijercountry
- Nijerriver
Ukrainian Ні́гер, Ніґе́р
- Ні́гер (Níher)country
- Ніґе́р (Nigér)country
Urdu نائجر
- نائجر (nāijar)country
Vietnamese Ni-giê
- Ni-giêcountry
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with niger
Anagrams
Cite this entry
niger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niger
“niger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niger. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “niger,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niger.
Source: niger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.