niger

English Online Dictionary. What means niger‎? What does niger mean?

English

Etymology

From the name of the Niger River, from Latin Nigris. See further etymology at Niger.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnaɪd͡ʒə(ɹ)/

Noun

niger (uncountable)

1. An Ethiopian herb, Guizotia abyssinica, grown for its seed and edible oil.

   Synonyms: noog, noug, nug

References

• “Niger, n.2.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2003.

Anagrams

• re-nig, Reign, Negri, reign, ringe, renig, Grine, Reing, Grein, nigre

Latin

Alternative forms

• nigrus

Etymology

Uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“bare, naked”) if this root is assumed also to be the source of *nókʷts (“night”) (Latin nox), thus “black” would attest the intermediate meaning between “bare” and “night”. Possibly cognate with Umbrian niru (“(possibly) dark, black”), though this form (thought to be accusative singular) is not mentioned in de Vaan.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈni.ɡer/, [ˈnɪɡɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈni.d͡ʒer/, [ˈniːd͡ʒer]

Adjective

niger (feminine nigra, neuter nigrum, superlative nigerrimus); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

1. wan, shining black (as opposed to āter, dull black)
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:niger.
2. bad; evil; ill-omened

Usage notes

• Widely used as a specific epithet.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).

Synonyms

• (black): fuscus

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “shining white”): candidus

Derived terms

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: negru, negur, neguru
  • Istro-Romanian: negru
  • Megleno-Romanian: negru
  • Romanian: negru
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: negru, neru
  • Italian: negro, nero
  • Neapolitan: niro
  • Sicilian: nìuru, niuru, nivuru
• North Italian:
  • Gallo-Italic:
    • Emilian: naigher
    • Ligurian: neigro
    • Lombard: negar, negher
    • Piedmontese: neir, négher
    • Romagnol: négar, nìgar
  • Friulian: neri
  • Istriot: nìgro, nìgaro
  • Ladin: neigher
  • Romansch: nair, neir, ner, negher
  • Venetan: nero
    • → Dalmatian: niar
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: nêr
  • Old French: noir, neir
    • Champenois: nor
    • Middle French: noir (see there for further descendants)
    • Norman: nièr, né, naer, nei
    • Walloon: noer
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Catalan: negre
    • → Aragonese: negre
  • Gascon: nere
  • Old Occitan: negre, ner, neir
    • Occitan: negre, ner, nèir
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: negro
  • Old Leonese: [Term?]
    • Asturian: negru, ñegru, nigru, ñiegru
    • Extremaduran: negru
    • Leonese: negru
    • Mirandese: negro
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: negro
    • Galician: negro
    • Portuguese: negro
      • Papiamentu: negru
  • Spanish: negro (see there for further descendants)
• Borrowings:
  • → Ido: nigra
  • → Interlingua: nigre

See also

References

• Buchi, Éva, Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–) “*/ˈnɪɡr-u/”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française.

Further reading

• “niger”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “niger”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• niger in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “niger”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “niger”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From English nigger.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nîɡer/
• Hyphenation: ni‧ger

Noun

nȉger m (Cyrillic spelling ни̏гер)

1. (slang, derogatory) nigger

   Synonym: cr̀nac

Declension

References

• “niger”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Swedish

Verb

niger

1. present of niga

Anagrams

• Inger, inger, regin, ringe