nigga
nounEtymology Of Old Akkadian origin. Unrelated to Etymology 1.
1
Vulgar A type of acrographic lexical list included in Old Babylonian scribal curriculum.
nigga
noun/ˈnɪɡə/
Etymology From a dialectal non-rhotic pronunciation of nigger.
But also often used affectionately in African-American Vernacular
- I'd never betray you, 'cause you my nigga, man.
3
Offensive, Often, Slang, Vulgar A black person (usually a male friend), especially an African American.
But tolerated in African-American Vernacular
- As soon as I walked into the class and saw that sea of white faces, I felt alone, so I sat next to the only other nigga there.
- "I mean, if you're not interested, it ain't nothing but a thang, baby girl. Just let a nigga know."2010, Chunichi, The Return of a Gangster's Girl, page 26:
Chiefly African-American Vernacular
- White niggas do be like, this is too spicy.
- All these freshman niggas are so annoying.
2 more examples
- These niggas out here bein' fake.
- “I can sit here and talk about the industrial complex all day long,” she said. “But niggas don’t look up until I say ‘Rihanna.’ Which isn’t right, to use those things. But that’s what people pay attention to.” […] a track called “toxic” singles out a cheating ex-boyfriend using the kind of memorably straightforward language favored by many of Warner’s less bookish peers (“Had a whole baby on me—fuck you, nigga”), while another track includes a winsome snippet of a conversation Warner once had with an Uber driver, who reminisces about his time in jail.2023 August 20, Kelefa Sanneh, quoting Fatimah Nyeema Warner, “Noname’s Ambivalent, Triumphant Comeback”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2023:
But tolerated in African-American Vernacular
- Niggas on my dick more than my bitches.2003, “If I Can't”, in Curtis Jackson (lyrics), Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo (music), Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent, New York City: Shady Records:
- I read somewhere I'm homophobic. Shit, go through the hood. There's mad niggas on my dick.2005, “Ryder Music”, in Curtis Jackson (lyrics), Tony Cottrell (music), The Massacre, performed by 50 Cent, New York City: Shady Records:
1 more example
- Now if you go to a party, and it's straight niggas, then I say a good 7 times out of 10, it's bouta get LIT UP! Like bro, dudes don't go to parties for other dudes. Nobody wants to pull up to a sausage fest. Like nothing is worse than pulling up to a party that was promoted to have hella joints there, for there to be no females there!2024, Odawg, 3 SIGNS A PARTY IS ABOUT TO GET SHOT UP! (YouTube):