Alteration of earlier neger, 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).
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.1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XV, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 133:
“Othello with his occupation gone,” she teased. “Othello was a nigger,” I said.1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 274:
4 more examples
Brothers, you just don't know. If you knew where you were going now, if you knew your chances of coming out with no arm or no eye, fighting those people in their own land, fighting Asian brothers, you got to shoot them, they never lynched you, never called you nigger, never put dogs on you, never shot your leaders. You've got to shoot your "enemies" [...] and as soon as you get home you won't be able to find a job.1970, “The Black Scholar interviews: Muhammad Ali.”, in The Black Scholar, spoken by Muhammad Ali:
Y'all don't quote me on this. You start out in 1954 by saying, "Nigger, nigger, nigger." By 1968 you can't say "nigger"—that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me—because obviously sitting around saying, "We want to cut this," is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "Nigger, nigger."1981, Rick Perlstein, “Exclusive: Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy”, in The Nation, spoken by Lee Atwater, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2025:
You are not even a nigger, you are an African.2004, Hotel Rwanda, spoken by Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte):
In a particularly sad portion of the Wells Report, Jonathan Martin laments being derided as a nigger to his face by Richie Incognito.2014 March 5, Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Politics and the African-American Human Language”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2014:
2
Ethnic, Offensive, Slang, Slur, Vulgar A person of black African descent who behaves badly or unconventionally (whether the speaker approves or disapproves).
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.1996, Chris Rock: Bring the Pain, Chris Rock (actor):
See, niggers are followers, blacks normally lead. Niggers call blacks "whitewash" soon as they on the scene.2008, “The N Word”, in Greydon Square (music), The CPT Theorem:
2 more examples
Blacks stayed at home during the civil rights march. Niggers are the ones that marched.2010 April 13, Kitty Kelley, quoting an unnamed town resident, Oprah: A Biography, New York, N.Y.: Crown, →ISBN, →OL, page 193:
...and as I was leaving it occurred to me. "Hey, hey, Renee, quick question[...] Why is it that I can say the word ‘nigger’ with impunity but I can't say the word ‘faggot’?" And she said, "Because, David, you are not gay." I said, "Well, Renee... I'm not a nigger either."2021, Dave Chapelle, The Closer:
3
Ethnic, Offensive, Slur, Vulgar A member of any typically dark-skinned people (now especially in combinations like prairie nigger or sand nigger).
He never lost his appetite - He bigger grew and bigger; And proved, with every inch of height, A nigger is a nigger.1880 June 19, Henry Kendall, “My Piccaninny”, in The Australian Town and Country Journal, page 28, column 4:
Many of the rank and file had no better conception of the proud and sensitive Maori than was implied in the degrading ‘nigger’ theory, invariably applied by the unthinking Briton to all coloured races.1902, George Stoddart Whitmore, The Last Maori War in New Zealand..., page vi:
4 more examples
"The public have taken no interest in the matter up to now, but this letter of Challenger's in the Times will make them wake up, I'm thinking." "And this about Sumatra?" "Well, it's a long cry from a blurred line in a spectrum to a sick nigger in Sumatra. And yet the chiel has shown us once before that he knows what he's talking about."1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
Besides, where are you going to find a rajah who doesn’t understand Bank of England notes? These niggers aren’t savages, not by any means. Why, lots of them have been to Oxford.1932, Dorothy L. Sayers, Have His Carcase:
[H]e commenced to kill Indians. We needed no second invitation. God it was a butchery. At the first fire we killed a round dozen and we did not let up. Before the last poor nigger reached the bottom of the slope there was fifty-eight of them lay slaughtered among the gravels. They just slid down the slope like chaff down a hopper, some turned this way, some that, and they made a chain about the base of the mountain1985, Cormac McCarthy, “Chapter 10”, in blood Meridian, Random House, →ISBN, →OCLC:
At Crescent Lake in Oneida County, Hubert Locke, who is black and serves as the Dean of the University of Washington's School of Public Affairs, was confronted with words to the effect of, "Now the Commission has a nigger working for them" and "I guess there are two kinds of niggers—red niggers and black niggers"[...] These blatant manifestations of racism directed toward Mr. Locke serve to illustrate the racist attitudes experienced daily by tribal members.1988, James H. Schlender, quotee, “Written Testimony of James H. Schlender, Executive Administrator, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, May 18, 1988”, in Anti-Indian Violence: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, May 4 and 18, 1988, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published 1989, →OCLC, page 197:
4
A friend, particularly a fellow black person (often as an informal term of address).
African-American Vernacular
“Snoop Dog!” one of them yelled. “That’s my nigga from Long Beach, man.”1997, McKinley Lee, Chosen by Fate: My Life inside Death Row Records, →ISBN:
I wonna say whassup to all my Niggers, you know, peace and one love.2001 Autumn-Winter, Awad Ibrahim, quoting ‘Sam’, “Hey, whadap homeboy?”, in Taboo, page 94:
1 more example
I had overheard him greet a buddy who called him on the phone with "Yo, nigger, what's up?"2002 January 13, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, “"Loaded Language", a review of Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy”, in Washington Post, page BW06:
5
Figuratively A person of any kind (particularly as a term of abuse).
Especially African-American Vernacular; otherwise offensive; especially African-American Vernacular; otherwise offensive
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.2021, Dave Chapelle, The Closer:
6
Especially, Offensive, In comparisons A member of a group that is oppressed or marginalized in the manner of black people.
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.1979 April 14, Jil Clark, Mel King, King Axes Women's Commission, page 1:
It's time for somebody to lead all of America's Niggers," he said at the Capitol Hill press conference when Shirley Chisholm announced she was running for president, "and by this I mean the Young, the Black, the Brown, the Women, the Poor—all the people who feel left out of the political process. If we can put the Nigger Vote together, we can bring about some real change in this country."1972, Ron Dellums, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, →ISBN, page 58:
1 more example
Woman is the nigger of the world / Yes, she is / If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with / Woman is the slave to the slaves1972, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, “Woman Is the Nigger of the World”, in Some Time in New York City:
› Any of various dark animals:
7
Offensive Any member of species Girella tricuspidata (luderick).
8
Dated, Offensive A dark brown nymphalid butterfly, Orsotriaena medus, of south Asia, southeast Asia, and Australia.
Nigger (Male) Orsotriaena medus moira Waterhouse and Lyell. 1914.1932, Gustavus Athol Waterhouse, What Butterfly is That?: A Guide to the Butterflies of Australia, page 112:
The Nigger is a common butterfly in Singapore and can be found in the company of bush browns.2010, Khew Sin Khoon, A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, page 69:
Archaic, Offensive The larva of the turnip sawfly, an agricultural pest.
To this group belongs the nigger, or black caterpillar of the turnip, which is often in sufficient numbers to do much mischief.1873, Nature, volume 7, page 448:
Now to locate the portion of the machine which contains the "nigger."1892, Western Electrician, volume 11, page 72:
12
Archaic 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.
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 […]1918, Leonard L. Shertzer, How to Build and Operate a Sawmill, page 20:
The word “nigger” means to the backwoodsman a small log placed when blazing, across large logs to fire them; by tending the fire so made, large logs are divided more quickly than by an ax—consequently “a nigger in a woodpile” means something which destroys it and not, as I had supposed, our African brother.[1919, Laura Fletcher Hodges, Early Indianapolis, page 16:
13
US, Archaic 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.
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.1983, Goldenseal, volume 9, page 20:
14
Broadcasting, Film, Media, TelevisionDated A black screen used in conjunction with the camera to block light or produce special lighting effects.
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.1961, Peter Snow, Electronic Flashlight Photography, page 114:
Alteration of earlier neger, 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).
1
Dated 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.
[…] 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.1844, J. W. Dunbar Moodie, “The Ould Dhragoon; or, a visit to the beaver meadow”, in Literary garland, volume 2, Lovell & Gibson, page 360:
The operation was this: they placed smaller logs and dry rubbish across the log and applied fire to them; this was called “niggering”.1914, Indiana State Teachers Association, Readings in Indiana history, Indiana University, History Section, page 171:
2 more examples
All day long his axe rang through the frosty air as he felled saplings for the fence and stripped them from fuel for the “niggering” fires.1956, Joseph Kirkland, Zury: the meanest man in Spring County: a novel of western life, University of Illinois Press, page 40:
This means subduing and taming the forest itself—the central drama of The Fields—performing the hard labor of hacking the trees and “niggering” and burning the butts in order to get to the rich black soil underneath.1980, Elaine Hedges, William Hedges, Land and imagination: the rural dream in America, Hayden Book Co., page 69:
2
Dated To exhaust (soil) by cropping it year by year without manure.
There is a general agreement that niggering took over from mummering to keep up the old custom.1976, Cake and Cockhorse, volume 7, page 220:
4
Offensive To behave as a stereotypical black person.
His father said, “Niggering, I was niggering about. You knew that surely.”1989, Reynolds Price, The surface of earth, Ballantine Books, page 120:
Forrest’s rediscovery of his father coincides with his discovery that old Robinson’s “niggering around” produced at least one child of mixed race.2007, George Hovis, Vale of Humility: Plain Folk in Contemporary North Carolina Fiction, Univ of South Carolina Press, page 86:
1 more example
I mean he was niggering. Niggering out, grabbing at my leg and microphone cord. I said, ‘Stop that you damn nigger!’ and that takes guts!2008, Joe Ambrose, Gimme Danger: The Story Of Iggy Pop, Music Sales Group:
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[.]1997 January 18, Joe Frisch, “Anglo-US relations under a Blair Government”, in uk.org.mensa (Usenet):
> He is on TV saying that he was "abused" by the police and treated like a nigger.1999 December 3, Jeff Welch, “Who is McGuyver and why was he "niggered?”, in seattle.general, December 3 (Usenet):
1 more example
Why would many Paletinians^([sic]) want to return to a land where they would be "niggered" for the benefit of the Israelis as the present Palestinian population is[?]2003 July 16, “Mob Attacks Palestinian Pollsters Who Told The Truth”, in soc.retirement (Usenet):