Niger

See also: niger and Níger

English

Etymology

Commonly linked by folk etymology to Latin niger (“black”), which likely influenced the modern spelling. Some sources give the term to Tuareg roots, deriving it from a claimed gher n-gheren or egereou n-igereouen (“river of rivers”).[1][2] Older sources derive Niger via a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, from Ptolemy's descriptions of the valley Gir (a wadi in modern Algeria), and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south.[3]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnaɪ.dʒə(ɹ)/ or, for the country, also /niːˈʒɛə(ɹ)/
  • (General American) enPR: nīʹjər, IPA(key): /ˈnaɪ.dʒɚ/ or, for the country, also enPR: nēzhârʹ, /niːˈʒɛɚ/
    The second pronunciations of the country's name follow how it is pronounced in French, the official language of Niger.[4][5]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪdʒə(ɹ), -ɛə(ɹ)

Proper noun

Niger

  1. A country in Western Africa situated to the north of Nigeria. Official name: Republic of Niger.
  2. A river in Africa that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria.

Hypernyms

Translations

See also

  • Appendix:Countries of the world

References

  1. ↑ C. K. Meek, The Niger and the Classics: The History of a Name. The Journal of African History. Vol. 1, No. 1 (1960), pp. 1-17
  2. ↑ “Niger” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.
  3. ↑ G. Long, "Niger", The penny cyclopædia
  4. ↑ How Do You Pronounce "Niger"? by Avi Zenilman, July 16, 2003, Slate.com
  5. ↑ So What Is This Place? by Nicholas D. Kristof, October 11, 2005, New York Times

Further reading

Anagrams

Czech

Proper noun

Niger m

  1. Niger (country)
  2. Niger (river)

Further reading

  • Niger in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
  • Niger in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Finnish

Proper noun

Niger

  1. Niger (country)

Declension

Inflection of Niger (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative Niger —
genitive Nigerin —
partitive Nigeriä —
illative Nigeriin —
singular plural
nominative Niger —
accusative nom. Niger —
gen. Nigerin
genitive Nigerin —
partitive Nigeriä —
inessive Nigerissä —
elative Nigeristä —
illative Nigeriin —
adessive Nigerillä —
ablative Nigeriltä —
allative Nigerille —
essive Nigerinä —
translative Nigeriksi —
instructive — —
abessive Nigerittä —
comitative — —

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ni.ʒɛʁ/
  • Audio(file)

Proper noun

Niger m

  1. Niger (country)

Derived terms

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈniːɡɐ]
  • Audio(file)

Proper noun

Niger m, n (genitive Nigers)

  1. Niger (country)

Derived terms

Proper noun

Niger m (genitive Nigers)

  1. Niger (river)

Derived terms

Italian

Proper noun

Niger m

  1. Niger (country)
  2. Niger (river)

Derived terms

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

From niger (“black, dark”).

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈni.ɡer/, [ˈnɪ.ɡɛr]

Proper noun

Niger m (genitive Nigrī); second declension

  1. A Roman agnomen, or "nickname"

Inflection

Second declension, nominative singular in -er.

Case Singular Plural
nominative Niger Nigrī
genitive Nigrī Nigrōrum
dative Nigrō Nigrīs
accusative Nigrum Nigrōs
ablative Nigrō Nigrīs
vocative Niger1 Nigrī

1May also be Nigre.

Proper noun

Niger m (genitive Nigris); third declension

  1. the river Niger in Africa
    • 1534, Joachim Vadianus, Epitome trium terrae partium Asiae, Africae et Europae compendiariam...:
      Efficit autem hoc suo flexu, ut etiam ultra Athlantem Africa ad usque Nigrim fluuium excurrat, Plinio & Ptolemaeo.

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular
nominative Niger
genitive Nigris
dative Nigrī
accusative Nigrim
ablative Nigre
vocative Niger

References

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Proper noun

Niger

  1. Niger (country)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Proper noun

Niger

  1. Niger (country)

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɲi.ɡɛr/
  • Audio(file)

Proper noun

Niger m

  1. Niger (country)
  2. Niger (river)

Declension

Derived terms

  • (#1) Nigerczyk m, Nigerka f
  • adjective: nigerski

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nîɡer/
  • Hyphenation: Ni‧ger

Proper noun

Nȉger m (Cyrillic spelling Ни̏гер)

  1. Niger (country, river)

Declension

Swedish

Proper noun

Niger n (genitive Nigers)

  1. Niger (country)
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