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neger. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
neger, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
neger in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
neger you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Perhaps from French nègre, from Spanish negro; or perhaps a variant of nigger.
Noun
neger (plural negers)
- (rare, often offensive) Synonym of nigger
- c. 1700, ‘The Saint Turn'd Sinner’ (ballad):
- The Parson still more eager, / Than lustful Turk or Neger, / Took up her lower Garment, / And said there was no harm in't, / According to the Text.
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (“black”).
Pronunciation
Noun
neger c (singular definite negeren, plural indefinite negre)
- (derogatory, now offensive) a dark-skinned person, especially a person of, or primarily of, Negro descent
- a ghostwriter
Usage notes
The term neger is not quite as offensive as English nigger, but is now generally considered offensive by most people; in its place, the term sort (“black”) is preferred.
Declension
or
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Further reading
Dutch
Etymology
From earlier negro (“black person”) or from French nègre (“black person”), from Spanish negro (“black person”), from Latin niger (“black”), of uncertain origin but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”).
Pronunciation
Noun
neger m (plural negers, diminutive negertje n, feminine negerin)
- (colloquial, now offensive in many contexts) a black person, a Negro (male or of unspecified gender)
Usage notes
- The word is not to be confused with the (etymologically related) Dutch word nikker, which is a term similar in meaning and offensiveness to English nigger.
- For many speakers in Belgium and the Netherlands it is a neutral albeit mainly colloquial way to refer to someone with a dark skin colour. Historically, the word was also used in formal registers, including in newspapers and literary works, but such use has become rare by the early 21st century.
- In Suriname, the word is a derogatory term, except when used in the compounds bosneger and stadsneger.
- In the Benelux, since about 2010, neger is increasingly considered to be hurtful, condescending and/or discriminatory, especially by black people, due to the offensiveness of the etymologically related English nigger and Negro. Prescriptivists may equate its offensiveness with that of nigger.
- There is evidence that at least some black speakers have reappropriated the word.
- The synonyms zwarte, zwarte persoon/man/vrouw, or persoon/man/vrouw met Afrikaanse roots can be used as neutral alternatives in all geographies and circumstances. There is also some use of the neologistic prefix Afro-, which is used similarly to English African-. It can be added as a prefix to any nationality or ethnicity to indicate African roots; for example: Afro-Nederlander (African-Dutchman), Afro-Belg (African-Belgian) and Afro-Vlaming (African-Fleming). These are neutral alternatives in all circumstances.
Synonyms
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Descendants
References
- ^ van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “neger”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
- ^ "neger", in Van Dale (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "zwarte / neger / negerin", in www.taaltelefoon.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "neger", in VRT Taal (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ Idee profielwerkstuk Meertens Instituut, Negers en nepnegers, beknopte handleiding voor een profielwerkstuk (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Mathilde Jansen, "Het N-woord: scheldwoord of geuzennaam?",
- ^ "neger", in VRT Taal (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
Anagrams
German
Adjective
neger (indeclinable)
- (Austria, colloquial, dated, possibly offensive) broke, bankrupt
See also
Latin
Verb
neger
- first-person singular present passive subjunctive of negō
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (“black”).
Noun
neger m (definite singular negeren, indefinite plural negere or negre or negrer, definite plural negerne or negrene)
- a Negro (sometimes derogatory and offensive)
References
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (“black”).
Noun
neger m (definite singular negeren, indefinite plural negrar, definite plural negrane)
- a Negro (sometimes derogatory and offensive)
References
Slovak
Noun
neger m anim
- (derogatory) nigger
- Synonym: černoch
Further reading
- “neger”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024
Swedish
Etymology
From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (“black”).
Pronunciation
Noun
neger c
- (derogatory, now offensive) a negro, a nigger, a black person
Usage notes
- Has undergone a similar development to English negro. Newspapers abandoned the word in the 1970s, in favor of terms like svart (“black”), färgad (“colored”) (now often considered derogatory), and afrikan (“African”). Sometimes used in a more-or-less neutral way by old people.
- The pluralization with -ar, although attested as early as 1756, is less common and omitted from several dictionaries.
Declension
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Descendants
References
Anagrams