nigger

[ nig-er ]

noun

1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. nigga, N-word.
   1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.
   2. a contemptuous term used to refer to a member of any dark-skinned people.
2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of any racial or ethnic origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
3. Offensive: Now Rare. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by Black people; a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised:

   In his 1987 novel The Commitments, Roddy Doyle wrote, "The Irish are the niggers of Europe."

nigger

/ ˈnɪɡə /

noun

1. 1. an offensive term for a Black person
   2. ( as modifier )

      nigger minstrels

2. an offensive term for a member of any dark-skinned race
3. nigger in the woodpile old-fashioned.
   a hidden snag or hindrance

Usage Alert

The term nigger is now probably the most offensive word in English. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. The senses labeled Extremely Disparaging and Offensive represent meanings that are deeply insulting and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. It is so profoundly offensive that a euphemism has developed for those occasions when the word itself must be discussed, as in court or in a newspaper editorial: “the N-word .”

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigger¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from French nègre “a Black person,” from Spanish negro “black”; Negro ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigger¹

C18: from C16 dialect neeger, from French nègre, from Spanish Negro ¹