negro

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See also: Negro, négro, and ñegro

English[edit]

The term Negro was advanced by American polymath W. E. B. Du Bois.

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese negro (“black”), from Latin nigrum (“shiny black”), of uncertain origin,[1] but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“bare; night”).[2] Doublet of noir.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

negro (not comparable)

  1. (dated, offensive) Relating to a black ethnicity.
    • 1963 April, “Anti-bias Coffee Klatsch: Windy City Interfaith Project Fights Bigotry with Coffee, Cookies and Conversation”, in Ebony, volume XVIII, number 6, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Company, →ISSN, page 67:
      Recently, on a wintry Sunday, some 2,500 white Chicago area residents embarked on a strange safari across the city, determined to do what most of them had never done before—visit a Negro home. Eager to purge themselves of ignorance about the city's "other half," they were participants in Interracial Home Visit Day, a "Coffee Klatsch" co-sponsored by local Catholic, Jewish and Protestant groups in an effort to eliminate racial bigotry and hate.
  2. (dated, now offensive) Black or dark brown in color.

Usage notes[edit]

As the primary term for persons of Black African ancestry during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, negro is both less immediately offensive than various other slurs and more connected with racist pseudoscientific work, which may be perceived as more racist and offensive than the slur itself. W. E. B. Du Bois in particular advocated strenuously for the use of capitalized Negro in preference to colored/coloured, which became less common by the 1920s, but in the United States the word negro now is considered acceptable only in polite historical contexts or in specific proper names such as the United Negro College Fund. Black and black (which replaced negro as part of the Black Power and black pride movements from 1966 onward) or the more recent African-American (from the 1980s) are the preferred alternatives, with neither being categorically preferred in all contexts. As a self-designation, negro was still preferred on average as late as 1968, while black became clearly more common by 1974. Usage in publications followed.[3] See also discussion on this topic at Wikipedia.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun[edit]

negro (plural negroes or negros)

  1. (dated, now offensive) A person of Black African ancestry.
    • 1867, Mayne Reid, Quadrupeds: what they are and where found, page 141:
      The negroes believe that its presence has a sanitary effect upon their cattle […]
    • 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 675:
      What Peter said was true but she hated to hear it from a negro and a family negro, too. Not to stand high in the opinion of one's servants was a humiliating a thing as could happen to a Southerner.
    • 2003, Benjamin Hawkins, Howard Thomas Foster, The Collected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796–1810, page 259:
      There were two negros who were guilty of thieving; he went and had them both shot, and gave notice that he would put all to death who kept disturbing the property of the white people, and kept confusion in their land.
    • 2010, Ryan Acheson, Chalk, page 68:
      His parents had always said that the area he grew up in had been a nice place to live before 'those Negros invaded'.

Usage notes[edit]

See above.

Synonyms[edit]

(noun):

(adjective and noun):

Hypernyms[edit]

(noun):

Hyponyms[edit]

(adjective and noun):

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
  2. ^ Watkins, Calvert, editor (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd edition, Boston (Mass.): Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN
  3. ^ Palmer, Brian (2010 January 11) “When Did the Word Negro Become Taboo?”, in Slate‎[2], Washington, DC: The Slate Group: “The turning point came when Stokely Carmichael coined the phrase black power at a 1966 rally in Mississippi.”

Anagrams[edit]

Aragonese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Akin to Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

  1. black (color)

References[edit]

  • “negro”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)
  • Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “negro”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈneɡɾo/, [ˈne.ɣ̞ɾo]

Adjective[edit]

negro

  1. neuter of negru

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Spanish negro.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈneɡɾo/, [ˈn̪iɡ.ɾ̪ɔ]

Noun[edit]

negro (feminine negra)

  1. (offensive, vulgar) a dark-skinned person
  2. (offensive, ethnic slur, vulgar) a person of African descent; a black person

Esperanto[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

negro (accusative singular negron, plural negroj, accusative plural negrojn)

  1. (offensive, ethnic slur) a Negro
    Hyponym: negrino
    • 1897 June, A. Kofman, “El Heine: La sklavoŝipo”, in Lingvo Internacia, volume 2, numbers 6-7, page 89:
      “Ses centojn da negroj mi ĉe Senegal
      Akiris je prezo profita,
      Malmola viando, simila al ŝton’,
      La membroj — el ŝtalo forĝita.”
      “600 negros at Senegal I acquired at a profitable price, hard meat, like stone, the members—from steel forged.”

Derived terms[edit]

Galician[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Galician-Portuguese negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

  1. black, dark colored
    Synonym: preto
    • 1995, Xesús Manuel Valcárcel, O capitán lobo negro:
      O vello leñador, sabio e taimado, observaba a acción distante, [...], atento unicamente a rafar o pan negro na cunca de caldo morno.
      The old lumberjack, wise and crafty, watched the distant commotion, ..., focused only on crumbling the black bread in the bowl with warm broth.
    • 1973, X. Gayoso Verga, Coa nosa xente:
      Matías e mais eu estabamos sentados acarón da lareira, eu cáseque detrás do caldeiro onde se coce a pitanza dos cochos; o cadeiro é grande e negro [...]
      Matias and I were seated in front of the fireplace, with me almost behind the cauldron where we prepare the feed for the pigs; the cauldron is big and black ...
  2. (figurative) sad, unfortunate, ill-fated
    • 1995, Xesús Manuel Valcárcel, O capitán lobo negro:
      Unha princesa enfeitizada que os malos designios e o negro destino converteron en mestra de escola [...]
      A cursed princess that was turned into a [mere] school teacher by vile plans and the unfortunate destiny ...

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

  1. black (colour)
  2. black person

Usage notes[edit]

This last usage is, a priori, not pejorative; still, periphrases as persoa de cor are usually preferred in formal context, if needed at all.

See also[edit]

Colors in Galician · cores (layout · text)
     branco      gris      negro, preto
             vermello; carmín              laranxa; castaño, marrón              amarelo; crema
             verde lima              verde              menta; verde escuro
             ciano; azul verdoso              cerúleo              azul
             violeta; anil              maxenta; púrpura              rosa

References[edit]

Interlingua[edit]

Noun[edit]

negro (plural negros)

  1. black person, usually black man, negro

Related terms[edit]

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin nigrum. The offensive senses derive from Spanish negro.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negri, feminine plural negre)

  1. (archaic) black
  2. (now offensive) negro

Noun[edit]

negro m (plural negri)

  1. (now offensive, ethnic slur, now vulgar) nigger

Related terms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Ladino[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Spanish negro (“black”). Cognate with Spanish negro.

Adjective[edit]

negro (Latin spelling)

  1. bad
    Synonym: malo
    • 1979, Kamelia Shahar, “La verdadera felisidad”, in Aki Yerushalayim, number 1, page 5:
      Eliau Anavi ke lo estava mirando d'enfrente se aserko de el i le disho: Dime ombre, deke estas de negra umor ?
      The prophet Elijah, who was watching him from across, approached him and said: Tell me, man, why are you in a bad mood?
    • 2018 November 21, Silvyo OVADYA, “Un fotografo modesto ma korajoso”, in Şalom‎[3]:
      Ma estos diyas, la mas grande partida de los filmos negativos estan en una negra situasyon en la umidita de un vyejo apartamento.
      But these days, the majority of the film negatives are in a bad situation in the dampness of an old apartment.

See also[edit]

Lombard[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin niger (“black”).

Adjective[edit]

negro m (plural negri)

  1. Alternative form of négher (black).

Old Galician-Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Galicia) IPA(key): /ˈne.ɡɾo/
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈne.ɡɾʊ/

Adjective[edit]

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

  1. black
    • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, E codex, cantiga 68 (facsimile):
      […] chus negro ca pez.
      […] blacker than pitch.
    • 1281, Clarinda de Azevedo Maia (ed.), História do galego-português. Estado linguístico da Galiza e do Noroeste de Portugal do século XII ao século XVI (com referência á situação do galego moderno). Coimbra: I.N.I.C., page 133:
      Mando o meu manto de broneta negra a Eluira Ffernandez de Uilar
      I bequeath my robe of black brunet cloth to Elvira Fernandez de Vilar
    Synonym: preto
  2. (figurative) sad, unfortunate, ill-fated
    • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 467:
      seméllame, fillo, que ora son cõpridos de tj os soños que eu sonaua et as uisiões que uij́a et as coytas grãdes que sofría ẽno coraçõ, que cada día se me fazía negro et triste.
      it seems to me, my son, that now you have accomplished the dreams I dreamed and the visions I envisioned and the big sorrows I suffered in my heart, that each day was black and sad to me
    • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 742:
      en negra ora naçí
      At an unfortunate hour I was born

Descendants[edit]

  • Galician: negro
  • Portuguese: negro

See also[edit]

Colors in Old Galician-Portuguese · coores, colores (layout · text)
     branco, blanco, alvo      gris      negro, preto
             vermelho              castanho              amarelo
                          verde             
                                       azur
                          cardẽo              rosa

References[edit]

  • “negro” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
  • “negr” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.

Portuguese[edit]

buraco negro
homem negro

Etymology[edit]

From Old Galician-Portuguese negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

 

  • Hyphenation: ne‧gro

Noun[edit]

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

  1. black (the darkest colour)
  2. (possibly offensive) black; negro (dark-skinned person)
    Synonyms: (formal) afrodescendente, preto, (Brazil, colloquial) nego
    • 2018, “Minotauro de Borges”, performed by Baco Exu do Blues:
      Pisando no céu enquanto eles se perguntam
      Como esse negro não cai
      Dizem que o céu é o limite
      Eles se perguntam
      Porque esse negro não cai
      Stepping on the sky while they ask
      How this nigga don't fall
      They say the sky is the limit
      They ask themselves
      Why this nigga don't fall

Adjective[edit]

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras, comparable, comparative mais negro, superlative o mais negro or negríssimo, diminutive negrinho, augmentative negrão)

  1. (somewhat formal) black in colour
    Synonym: preto (colloquial)
  2. black; dark-skinned
    Synonym: preto
  3. (literary) dark (associated with evil)
    Cavaleiro negro. ― Dark knight.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈneɡɾo/ [ˈne.ɣ̞ɾo]
  • Audio (Spain):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɡɾo
  • Syllabification: ne‧gro

Noun[edit]

negro m (plural negros)

  1. black (the color perceived in the absence of light)
    Antonym: blanco

Noun[edit]

negro m (plural negros, feminine negra, feminine plural negras)

  1. a black person; a person of black African descent
  2. a member of any typically dark-skinned people
  3. ghost writer
    • 2016 April 18, “Mario Vaquerizo, fan del 15M y de Federico Jiménez Losantos”, in El Confidencial‎[4]:
      Es improbable, casi imposible, que haya sido escrito por un negro, al estilo de Belén Esteban, David Beckham y Ana Rosa Quintana.
      It's unlikely, almost impossible, that it was written by a ghost writer, in the style of Belén Esteban, David Beckham and Ana Rosa Quintana.

Adjective[edit]

negro (feminine negra, masculine plural negros, feminine plural negras)

  1. black (absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless)
    Antonym: blanco
  2. black (of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin)
    Synonym: prieto (Louisiana)
  3. dirty
  4. sad
  5. clandestine
    Synonym: clandestino
  6. (Spain) angry
    Synonym: rabioso
    está negro ― he's in a rage
  7. (Latin America) ( mi ~) my darling, my honey
    Synonyms: querido, amado

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

See also[edit]

Colors in Spanish · colores (layout · text)
     blanco      gris      negro
             rojo; carmín, carmesí              naranja, anaranjado; marrón              amarillo; crema
             lima              verde              menta
             cian, turquesa; azul-petróleo              celeste, cerúleo              azul
             violeta; añil, índigo              magenta; morado, púrpura              rosa, rosado

Further reading[edit]

Tagalog[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈneɡɾo/, [ˈnɛ.ɡɾo]
  • Syllabification: ne‧gro

Adjective[edit]

negro (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒᜄ᜔ᜇᜓ)

  1. (colloquial, usually derogatory, potentially offensive) having dark pigmentation of the skin

Noun[edit]

negro (feminine negra, Baybayin spelling ᜈᜒᜄ᜔ᜇᜓ)

  1. (colloquial, usually derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) one with dark pigmentation of the skin, such as those of African descent with sub-Saharan origin
    Synonyms: (slang) nognog, (slang) egoy
  2. (archaic, rare) black (the color perceived in the absence of light)

Usage notes[edit]

  • When heard by African Americans visiting or living in the Philippines, the term is often considered offensive due to its derogatory sense in English and associations with the term, nigger, in English, although the term is not used very often due to the meager and sparse population of those of sub-Saharan origin in the Philippines.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “negro”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Venetian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin niger.

Adjective[edit]

negro

  1. black
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