Word: nigger Part of Speech: noun Etymology: 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). Pronunciation: /ˈnɪɡə(ɹ)/, /ˈnɪɡɚ/ 1. A black person; a person of black African descent. Labels: ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar Example: 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. Example: “Othello with his occupation gone,” she teased. “Othello was a nigger,” I said. 2. A black person; a person of black African descent. Labels: ethnic, offensive, slang, slur, vulgar Example: 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. Example: See, niggers are followers, blacks normally lead. Niggers call blacks "whitewash" soon as they on the scene. 3. A member of any typically dark-skinned people (now especially in combinations like prairie nigger or sand nigger). Labels: ethnic, offensive, slur, vulgar Example: He never lost his appetite - He bigger grew and bigger; And proved, with every inch of height, A nigger is a nigger. Example: 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. 4. A friend, particularly a fellow black person (often as an informal term of address). Example: “Snoop Dog!” one of them yelled. “That’s my nigga from Long Beach, man.” Example: I wonna say whassup to all my Niggers, you know, peace and one love. 5. A person of any kind (particularly as a term of abuse). Labels: figuratively Example: 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. 6. A member of a group that is oppressed or marginalized in the manner of black people. Labels: especially, offensive Example: 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. Example: 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." 7. Any of various dark animals: Labels: offensive 8. Any of various dark animals: Labels: dated, offensive Example: Nigger (Male) Orsotriaena medus moira Waterhouse and Lyell. 1914. Example: The Nigger is a common butterfly in Singapore and can be found in the company of bush browns. 9. Any of various dark animals: Labels: Cornwall, UK, archaic, offensive 10. Any of various dark animals: Labels: archaic, offensive Example: To this group belongs the nigger, or black caterpillar of the turnip, which is often in sufficient numbers to do much mischief. 11. 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. Labels: archaic Example: Now to locate the portion of the machine which contains the "nigger." 12. 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. Labels: archaic Example: 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 […] Example: 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. 13. 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. Labels: US, archaic Example: 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. 14. A black screen used in conjunction with the camera to block light or produce special lighting effects. Labels: dated Example: 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.