nègre

See also: negre, négre, Negre, and Nègre

French

Alternative forms

• nèg, nèg', négre (Louisiana)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French negre, from Spanish negro or Portuguese negro, itself from Latin niger. Doublet of noir (“black”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛɡʁ/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /naɛ̯ɡʁ/

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• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): /nɛɡ(r)/
• Rhymes: -ɛɡʁ

Noun

nègre m (plural nègres, feminine négresse)

1. (vulgar, offensive or dated) negro

   Synonyms: négro, noir

2. (now sometimes offensive) ghostwriter

   un nègre littéraire

3. (Louisiana, not usually offensive, see quotations) Black man or person
   • 2010, Albert Valdman, et al., Dictionary of Louisiana French as Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities, page 651:

     Et "nègre" veut pas dire "nigger," c’est pas un mot vilain. C’est juste dire que c’est un homme de couleur. Un noir. Tu vas dire "un nègre," ou "une négresse," et c’est pas une insulte.

     And "nègre" doesn’t mean “nigger,” it’s not an ugly word. It’s just to say that someone is a man of color. A black man. You’ll say a "nègre," or a "négresse," and it’s not an insult.

   • 2010, Valdman, et al., Dictionary of Louisiana French, page 175:

     Les nègres ont les cheveux crottés.

     Black people have kinky hair.

   Coordinate term: (gender) négresse f

4. (Louisiana, informal) friend, buddy, pal, man, dude
5. (Louisiana, informal, endearing) honey, baby, precious

   Coordinate term: négresse f

6. (Louisiana, sometimes pejorative) the Louisiana Creole language, Kouri-Vini

   Synonyms: courimavini m, courivini m, créole m, français cassé m, gombo m, patois m

Usage notes

• The term nègre was not considered offensive a few decades ago, referring merely to the colour of the skin.
• The preferred form for ghostwriter is prête-plume, as the term nègre has pejorative connotations. The expression is still largely used, sometimes in the softened form nègre littéraire, perhaps because this meaning is strongly metaphorical and only distantly related.

Derived terms

• mouiller des petits nègres en or
• nègre américain
• nègre congo
• nègre créole
• nègre français
• nègre littéraire
• négritude
• orteil de nègre
• parler gros nègre
• petit nègre
• suer comme un nègre à la messe
• tête de nègre
• tomber des petits nègres la tête en bas
• vieux nègre

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: nèg
• Louisiana Creole: nèg, nég
• → German: Neger (Negerin)
• → Russian: негр (negr)
• → Swedish: neger
  • → Finnish: neekeri

Adjective

nègre (plural nègres)

1. (relational) of the Blacks of Africa or of African arts
2. black (color)

Usage notes

• This term is not considered pejorative as an adjective, but due to the associations of the noun, is often replaced with africain.

Derived terms

• alouette nègre
• Alouette nègre (“black lark”), Melanocorypha yeltoniensis (Alouette can be spelled with a “capital A” to emphasize the French name of the species) (cf. German: Mohrenlerche and Mohr)

Adverb

nègre

1. (Louisiana, offensive) in the manner of Black people

Related terms

• négraille
• négresse
• négro
• négroïde

See also

• mélanoderme

Further reading

• “nègre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities (2009; →ISBN; →ISBN)

Anagrams

• gêner, genre, règne, régné