neger

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, sometimes eye dialect) 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

  • IPA(key): /neːjər/, [ˈneːjɐ]

Noun

neger c (singular definite negeren, plural indefinite negere)

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

Usage notes

The term neger is now generally considered offensive; in its place, the term sort (black) is preferred.

Synonyms

Further reading

Dutch

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

  • Audio(file)

Noun

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

  1. (informal) a negro (male)

Usage notes

  • For many speakers in Belgium and the Netherlands it is a neutral and non-offensive way to refer to someone with a darker skin colour. In recent years under influence of the offensiveness of the etymologically related English nigger, some speakers do take offence, making it a topic of some debate whether the word can still be used neutrally or not, with varying opinions being held.
  • In Suriname, the word is a derogatory term, except when used in the compounds bosneger and stadsneger.[1]
  • The synonym zwarte can be used as a neutral alternative in all geographies and circumstances.

Synonyms

Descendants

References

Anagrams

German

Adjective

neger

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

See also

Latin

Verb

neger

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of negō

Norwegian Bokmål

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

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

Swedish

Etymology

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

Noun

neger c

  1. (derogatory, now offensive) a negro, a black person

Declension

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

Usage notes

  • The word, potentially having derogatory connotations, has been avoided since the 1960s, primarily in favor of svart (“black”) and afrikan (“African”)

Synonyms

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