negro

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese negro (“black”), from Latin nigrum (“shiny black”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“bare; night”). Doublet of noir.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈniɡɹoʊ/
  • (Southern American English, dated) IPA^(key): /ˈnɪɡɹə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈniːɡɹəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Adjective

negro (not comparable)

1. (dated, offensive) Relating to a black ethnicity.
   • 1963 April, “Anti-bias Coffee Klatsch: Windy City Interfaith Project Fights Bigotry with Coffee, Cookies and Conversation”, in Ebony, volume XVIII, number 6, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Company, →ISSN, page 67:

     Recently, on a wintry Sunday, some 2,500 white Chicago area residents embarked on a strange safari across the city, determined to do what most of them had never done before—visit a Negro home. Eager to purge themselves of ignorance about the city's "other half," they were participants in Interracial Home Visit Day, a "Coffee Klatsch" co-sponsored by local Catholic, Jewish and Protestant groups in an effort to eliminate racial bigotry and hate.

2. (dated, now offensive) Black or dark brown in color.

Usage notes

As the primary term for persons of Black African ancestry during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, negro is both less immediately offensive than various other slurs and more connected with racist pseudoscientific work, which may be perceived as more racist and offensive than the slur itself. W. E. B. Du Bois in particular advocated strenuously for the use of capitalized Negro in preference to colored/coloured, which became less common by the 1920s, but in the United States the word negro now is considered acceptable only in polite historical contexts or in specific proper names such as the United Negro College Fund. Black and black (which replaced negro as part of the Black Power and black pride movements from 1966 onward) or the more recent African-American (from the 1980s) are the preferred alternatives, with neither being categorically preferred in all contexts. As a self-designation, negro was still preferred on average as late as 1968, while black became clearly more common by 1974. Usage in publications followed. See also discussion on this topic at Wikipedia.

Related terms

Translations

Noun

negro (plural negroes or negros)

1. (dated, now offensive) A person of Black African ancestry.
   • 1867, Mayne Reid, Quadrupeds: what they are and where found, page 141:

     The negroes believe that its presence has a sanitary effect upon their cattle […]

   • 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 675:

     What Peter said was true but she hated to hear it from a negro and a family negro, too. Not to stand high in the opinion of one's servants was a humiliating a thing as could happen to a Southerner.

   • 2003, Benjamin Hawkins, Howard Thomas Foster, The Collected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796–1810, page 259:

     There were two negros who were guilty of thieving; he went and had them both shot, and gave notice that he would put all to death who kept disturbing the property of the white people, and kept confusion in their land.

   • 2010, Ryan Acheson, Chalk, page 68:

     His parents had always said that the area he grew up in had been a nice place to live before 'those Negros invaded'.

Usage notes

See above.

Synonyms

(noun):

• blackamoor

(adjective and noun):

• black, Black
• African-American (nonstandard, US)

Hypernyms

(noun):

• colored
• colored person
• person of color

Hyponyms

(adjective and noun):

• Afro-American
• African-American (in the proper sense)
• negress

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• barro negro
• mulatto
• octaroon
• quadroon

References

Anagrams

• Egnor, Goren, Groen, Norge, Ogren, Rengo, Rogen, ergon, genro, goner, grone, ornge, reong

Aragonese

Alternative forms

• niero

Etymology

Akin to Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɡɾo/
• Rhymes: -eɡɾo
• Syllabification: ne‧gro

Adjective

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

1. black (color)

References

• “negro”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)
• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “negro”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɡɾo/,

Adjective

negro

1. neuter of negru

Cebuano

Etymology

From Spanish negro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɡɾo/,

Noun

negro (feminine negra)

1. (offensive, vulgar) a dark-skinned person
2. (offensive, ethnic slur, vulgar) a person of African descent; a black person

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -eɡro
• Hyphenation: ne‧gro

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

negro (accusative singular negron, plural negroj, accusative plural negrojn)

1. (offensive, ethnic slur) a Negro

   Hyponym: negrino

   • 1897 June, A. Kofman, “El Heine: La sklavoŝipo”, in Lingvo Internacia, volume 2, numbers 6-7, page 89:

     “Ses centojn da negroj mi ĉe Senegal
     Akiris je prezo profita,
     Malmola viando, simila al ŝton’,
     La membroj — el ŝtalo forĝita.”

     “600 negros at Senegal I acquired at a profitable price, hard meat, like stone, the members—from steel forged.”

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Adjective

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

1. black, dark colored

   Synonym: preto

   • 1995, Xesús Manuel Valcárcel, O capitán lobo negro:

     O vello leñador, sabio e taimado, observaba a acción distante, [...], atento unicamente a rafar o pan negro na cunca de caldo morno.

     The old lumberjack, wise and crafty, watched the distant commotion, ..., focused only on crumbling the black bread in the bowl with warm broth.

   • 1973, X. Gayoso Verga, Coa nosa xente:

     Matías e mais eu estabamos sentados acarón da lareira, eu cáseque detrás do caldeiro onde se coce a pitanza dos cochos; o cadeiro é grande e negro [...]

     Matias and I were seated in front of the fireplace, with me almost behind the cauldron where we prepare the feed for the pigs; the cauldron is big and black ...

2. (figurative) sad, unfortunate, ill-fated
   • 1995, Xesús Manuel Valcárcel, O capitán lobo negro:

     Unha princesa enfeitizada que os malos designios e o negro destino converteron en mestra de escola [...]

     A cursed princess that was turned into a school teacher by vile plans and the unfortunate destiny ...

Derived terms

Noun

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

1. black (colour)
2. black person

Usage notes

This last usage is, a priori, not pejorative; still, periphrases as persoa de cor are usually preferred in formal context, if needed at all.

See also

References

• “negro” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
• “negro” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “negro” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “negro” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Interlingua

Noun

negro (plural negros)

1. black person, usually black man, negro

Related terms

Italian

Alternative forms

• nero

Etymology

From Latin nigrum. The offensive senses derive from Spanish negro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈne.ɡro/
• Rhymes: -eɡro
• Hyphenation: né‧gro

Adjective

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negri, feminine plural negre)

1. (archaic) black
2. (now offensive) negro

Noun

negro m (plural negri)

1. (now offensive, ethnic slur, now vulgar) nigger

Related terms

Anagrams

• regno, regnò, rogne

Ladino

Etymology

From Old Spanish negro (“black”). Cognate with Spanish negro.

Adjective

negro (Latin spelling)

1. bad

   Synonym: malo

   • 1979, Kamelia Shahar, “La verdadera felisidad”, in Aki Yerushalayim, number 1, page 5:

     Eliau Anavi ke lo estava mirando d'enfrente se aserko de el i le disho: Dime ombre, deke estas de negra umor ?

     The prophet Elijah, who was watching him from across, approached him and said: Tell me, man, why are you in a bad mood?

   • 2018 November 21, Silvyo OVADYA, “Un fotografo modesto ma korajoso”, in Şalom‎:

     Ma estos diyas, la mas grande partida de los filmos negativos estan en una negra situasyon en la umidita de un vyejo apartamento.

     But these days, the majority of the film negatives are in a bad situation in the dampness of an old apartment.

See also

• preto (“black”)

Lombard

Etymology

From Latin niger (“black”).

Adjective

negro m (plural negri)

1. Alternative form of négher (black).

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• (Galicia) IPA^(key): /ˈne.ɡɾo/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈne.ɡɾʊ/

Adjective

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

1. black
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, E codex, cantiga 68 (facsimile):

     chus negro ca pez.

     blacker than pitch.

   • 1281, Clarinda de Azevedo Maia (ed.), História do galego-português. Estado linguístico da Galiza e do Noroeste de Portugal do século XII ao século XVI (com referência á situação do galego moderno). Coimbra: I.N.I.C., page 133:

     Mando o meu manto de broneta negra a Eluira Ffernandez de Uilar

     I bequeath my robe of black brunet cloth to Elvira Fernandez de Vilar

   Synonym: preto

2. (figurative) sad, unfortunate, ill-fated
   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 467:

     seméllame, fillo, que ora son cõpridos de tj os soños que eu sonaua et as uisiões que uij́a et as coytas grãdes que sofría ẽno coraçõ, que cada día se me fazía negro et triste.

     it seems to me, my son, that now you have accomplished the dreams I dreamed and the visions I envisioned and the big sorrows I suffered in my heart, that each day was black and sad to me

   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 742:

     en negra ora naçí

     At an unfortunate hour I was born

Descendants

• Galician: negro
• Portuguese: negro
  • Papiamentu: negru

See also

References

• “negro” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “negr” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ne‧gro

Noun

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

1. black (the darkest colour)
2. (possibly offensive) black; negro (dark-skinned person)

   Synonyms: (formal) afrodescendente, preto, (Brazil, colloquial) nego

   • 2018, “Minotauro de Borges”, performed by Baco Exu do Blues:

     Pisando no céu enquanto eles se perguntam
     Como esse negro não cai
     Dizem que o céu é o limite
     Eles se perguntam
     Porque esse negro não cai

     Stepping on the sky while they ask
     How this nigga don't fall
     They say the sky is the limit
     They ask themselves
     Why this nigga don't fall

Adjective

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras, comparable, comparative mais negro, superlative o mais negro or negríssimo, diminutive negrinho, augmentative negrão)

1. (somewhat formal) black in colour

   Synonym: preto (colloquial)

2. black; dark-skinned

   Synonym: preto

3. (literary) dark (associated with evil)

   Cavaleiro negro. ― Dark knight.

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Papiamentu: negru

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɡɾo/

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɡɾo
• Syllabification: ne‧gro

Noun

negro m (plural negros)

1. black (the color perceived in the absence of light)

   Antonym: blanco

Noun

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

1. a black person; a person of black African descent
2. a member of any typically dark-skinned people
3. ghost writer
   • 2016 April 18, “Mario Vaquerizo, fan del 15M y de Federico Jiménez Losantos”, in El Confidencial‎:

     Es improbable, casi imposible, que haya sido escrito por un negro, al estilo de Belén Esteban, David Beckham y Ana Rosa Quintana.

     It's unlikely, almost impossible, that it was written by a ghost writer, in the style of Belén Esteban, David Beckham and Ana Rosa Quintana.

Adjective

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

1. black (absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless)

   Antonym: blanco

2. black (of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin)

   Synonym: prieto (Louisiana)

3. dirty
4. sad
5. clandestine

   Synonym: clandestino

6. (Spain) angry

   Synonym: rabioso

   está negro ― he's in a rage

7. (Latin America) ( mi ~) my darling, my honey

   Synonyms: querido, amado

Derived terms

• negrillo, negrito (diminutives)

Descendants

• → English: negro (or via Portuguese), nigro (cross-loan with Latin niger, obsolete), nigra
• → French: nègre
  • → Dutch: neger
  • → English: neger
    • ⇒ English: niger, nigger, nigga (cross-loan with Latin niger)
      • → Danish: nigger
      • → Dutch: nikker
      • → German: Nigger
      • → Norwegian: nigger
      • → Swedish: nigger
  • → German: Neger
  • → Norwegian: neger
  • → Swedish: neger
  • → Russian: негр (negr)
• → French: négro

See also

Further reading

• “negro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɡɾo/,
• Syllabification: ne‧gro

Adjective

negro (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒᜄ᜔ᜇᜓ)

1. (colloquial, usually derogatory, potentially offensive) having dark pigmentation of the skin

Noun

negro (feminine negra, Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒᜄ᜔ᜇᜓ)

1. (colloquial, usually derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) one with dark pigmentation of the skin, such as those of African descent with sub-Saharan origin

   Synonyms: (slang) nognog, (slang) egoy

2. (archaic, rare) black (the color perceived in the absence of light)

Usage notes

• When heard by African Americans visiting or living in the Philippines, the term is often considered offensive due to its derogatory sense in English and associations with the term, nigger, in English, although the term is not used very often due to the meager and sparse population of those of sub-Saharan origin in the Philippines.

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “negro”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin niger.

Adjective

negro

1. black