neger

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See also: Neger and néger

English

Etymology

Perhaps from French nègre, from Spanish negro; or perhaps a variant of nigger.

Noun

neger (plural negers)

  1. (rare, often offensive) Synonym of nigger [from 16th c.]
    • 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)

  1. (derogatory, now offensive) a dark-skinned person, especially a person of, or primarily of, Negro descent
  2. 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

Synonyms

Further reading

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

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

  • IPA(key): /ˈneː.ɣər/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: ne‧ger
  • Rhymes: -eːɣər

Noun

neger m (plural negers, diminutive negertje n, feminine negerin)

  1. (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.[1]
  • 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.[2][3][4] Prescriptivists may equate its offensiveness with that of nigger.
  • There is evidence that at least some black speakers have reappropriated the word.[5][6]
  • The synonyms zwarte, zwarte persoon/man/vrouw, or persoon/man/vrouw met Afrikaanse roots[7] 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

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: neger
  • Negerhollands: neeger

References

  1. ^ van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “neger”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
  2. ^ "neger", in Van Dale (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ^ "zwarte / neger / negerin", in www.taaltelefoon.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. ^ "neger", in VRT Taal (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  5. ^ Idee profielwerkstuk Meertens Instituut, Negers en nepnegers, beknopte handleiding voor een profielwerkstuk (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ^ Mathilde Jansen, "Het N-woord: scheldwoord of geuzennaam?", [1]
  7. ^ "neger", in VRT Taal (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 June 2021.

Anagrams

German

Adjective

neger (indeclinable)

  1. (Austria, colloquial, dated, possibly offensive) broke, bankrupt

See also

Latin

Verb

neger

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of negō

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

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)

  1. a Negro (sometimes derogatory and offensive)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (black).

Noun

neger m (definite singular negeren, indefinite plural negrar, definite plural negrane)

  1. a Negro (sometimes derogatory and offensive)

References

Slovak

Noun

neger m anim

  1. (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

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Etymology

From French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin niger (black).

Pronunciation

Noun

neger c

  1. (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,[1] is less common and omitted from several dictionaries.

Declension

Declension of neger 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative neger negern negrer negrerna
Genitive negers negerns negrers negrernas
Declension of neger 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative neger negern negrar negrarna
Genitive negers negerns negrars negrarnas

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Anagrams