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Nigger

//ˈnɪɡə(ɹ)// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A given name for a black pet. historical, offensive
"Gibson's real affinity is with his dog, Nigger. When we first see Gibson returning from a raid, he is overjoyed to see his four-legged friend […]"
2
Niger (nation). derogatory
"Recently the head nigger arrested 60 children from Benin, Togo, Niggeria, Ghana and Nigger, along with 20 of their Slave Masters, who were immigrants from West Africoonia."

Noun

1
A black person; a person of black African descent. ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar
"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger—but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither."
2
(ethnic slur) extremely offensive name for a Black person wordnet
3
A black person; a person of black African descent.; A person of black African descent who behaves badly or unconventionally (whether the speaker approves or disapproves). ethnic, offensive, slang, slur, vulgar
"There's black people, and there's niggers. And niggers have got to go. Every time black people wanna have a good time, ign'ant-ass niggers fuck it up."
4
A member of any typically dark-skinned people (now especially in combinations like prairie nigger or sand nigger). ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar
"He never lost his appetite - He bigger grew and bigger; And proved, with every inch of height, A nigger is a nigger."
5
A friend, particularly a fellow black person (often as an informal term of address).
"“Snoop Dog!” one of them yelled. “That’s my nigga from Long Beach, man.”"

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6
A person of any kind (particularly as a term of abuse). figuratively
"People be surprised. I have friends who're all kinds a letters. Everybody loves me an' I love everybody. I got friends who are Ls, I got friends who are Bs, and I got friends who are Gs. But the Ts hate my fucking guts. And I don't blame 'em! It's not their fault. It's mine. I can't stop tellin' jokes about these niggas."
7
A member of a group that is oppressed or marginalized in the manner of black people. especially, offensive
"The governor made it into office by campaigning against the niggers. And people should understand who the niggers are. It's the elderly one week. Then it's those on public assistance. Now he sees women as niggers, and he's trying to do them in."
8
Any of various dark animals:; Any member of species Girella tricuspidata (luderick). offensive
9
Any of various dark animals:; A dark brown nymphalid butterfly, Orsotriaena medus, of south Asia, southeast Asia, and Australia. dated, offensive
"Nigger (Male) Orsotriaena medus moira Waterhouse and Lyell. 1914."
10
Any of various dark animals:; A kind of sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, the cotton-spinner. Cornwall, UK, archaic, offensive
11
Any of various dark animals:; The larva of the turnip sawfly, an agricultural pest. archaic, offensive
"To this group belongs the nigger, or black caterpillar of the turnip, which is often in sufficient numbers to do much mischief."
12
An impurity in the covering of an electrical conductor which serves to make a partial short circuit, and thus becomes sufficiently heated to burn and destroy the insulation. archaic
"Now to locate the portion of the machine which contains the "nigger.""
13
A strong iron-bound timber with sharp teeth or spikes protruding from its front face, forming part of the machinery of a sawmill, and used in canting logs, etc. archaic
"A sawyer will come along and be touted and recommended as the best in the country when his chief qualifications will be his ability to jerk the carriage back and forth in a hurry without striking the bumper or to turn the log with the nigger […]"
14
A steam-capstan on some Mississippi river boats, used to haul the boat over bars and snags by a rope fastened to a tree on the bank. US, archaic
"Well, it's a big heavy line, and you operate the nigger — capstan it's also called — by steam. You wrap your line around that and keep taking in the slack, and that draws up them things."
15
A black screen used in conjunction with the camera to block light or produce special lighting effects. dated
"Care should be taken to check visually from the position occupied by the subject and from the camera also, to ascertain that the nigger is positioned correctly and does not obstruct the picture area."

Verb

1
To clear land by laying light pieces of round timber across the trunks of the trees and setting fire to them at the point of contact, by which means the trees are slowly burned through. dated, transitive
"[…] he resorted to the practice of “niggering,” as it is called: which is simply laying light pieces of round timber across the trunks of the trees and setting fire to them at the point of contact; by which means the trees are slowly burned through."
2
To exhaust (soil) by cropping it year by year without manure. dated, transitive
3
To perform in blackface. intransitive, offensive
"There is a general agreement that niggering took over from mummering to keep up the old custom."
4
To behave as a stereotypical black person. intransitive, offensive
"His father said, “Niggering, I was niggering about. You knew that surely.”"
5
To treat as inferior. offensive, transitive, uncommon
"The gated community is a powerful tool in the systematic and sustained niggering of local 3rd-world communities - namely, in the book, the Hispanic (mostly wetbacK^([sic])) community[.]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French nègre (“a black person”), from Spanish negro. Ultimately from Latin niger (“black”), thus a doublet of negro and noir. The expected Modern English pronunciation would be with /iː/; compare neger. The modern pronunciation with /ɪ/ may be due to influence from the Latin etymon (compare the older Southern US pronunciation of negro with /ɪ/), but compare the dialectal American pronunciations of eagle and eager as /ˈɪɡəl/ and /ˈɪɡɚ/. Compare Danish neger, Swedish neger, German Neger, Dutch neger. First use appears c. 1577, in the writings of Edward Hellowes (fl. 1574–1601).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

In reference to the color black, from nigger.

Etymology 4

Blend of Niger + nigger.

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