nèg

See also: nég

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nɛɡ/

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Particularly: "Louisiana pronunciation"

- Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Etymology 1

From nègre.

Noun

nèg m (plural nègs)

(Louisiana) alternative form of nègre

Etymology 2

From Haitian Creole nèg.

Noun

nèg m (plural nègs)

(Montreal, slang) guy; dude; close friend

Usage notes

See nègre.

Related terms

Descendants

Louisiana Creole: nèg, nég

Haitian Creole

Etymology

Inherited from French nègre (“black person”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nɛɡ/
Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Noun

nèg

guy, dude, man, nigga

Usage notes

Used similarly to the African-American vernacular term nigga.

References

Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[1], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 135

Louisiana Creole

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /nɛɡ/
Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Etymology 1

Inherited from Louisiana French nègre (“Black person, Negro; buddy, friend”).

Noun

nèg

(dated, now derogatory, offensive) (a) Black person, (a) Negro
(derogatory) the Louisiana Creole language
Synonyms: (potential negative connotation) fransé kasé, (more neutral) gombo, kouri-vini
(informal, sometimes offensive, see usage notes) (a) buddy, (a) pal, (a) friend, (a) fellow
Synonyms: boug, djæk, padna, vyé, zami

Mé nèg, komen ça va?
Well buddy, how's it going?

Mwa, mo çé vyé nèg.
Me, I'm an old fella.
- 1978, La Connexion Créole, “Ben Guine "Fivar,Fever"”, in YouTube‎^[2], retrieved 10 March 2022:
  Li dí, “Mo déja dí twa é tô nèg lá. Mo déja dí twa, mo pa lé kouri ojòrdi!
  He said, "I already told you and your friend. I already told you, I don't want to go [out to work] today!"

Usage notes

In its informal sense, the term nèg is not derogatory, though some may object to its use by non-Black people (compare English nigga). Regardless, like its French counterpart nèg / nègre, the term is commonly used by speakers of all races in Louisiana.

Alternative forms

nég

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Derived from French un (“an”) + French aigle (“eagle”), with the phonological liaison /n/ of the indefinite article re-analyzed as part of the noun.

Noun

nèg

(an) eagle

Alternative forms

lèg