Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Social Sciences
  4. / Etymology
  5. / Word Origins, I - P

by Daydreamer on May 27th, 2005

Daydreamer

Question

Help answer this question below.

What is the origin of the racist word "nigger"?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. Showing one answer.

  • by jalex137 on June 29th, 2005

    jalex137

    wordorigins.org has a pretty thorough writeup:

    http://www.wordorigins.org/

    This most offensive of words in American speech dates back to the late 16th century, although the modern spelling doesn't appear until two centuries later. The OED2's earliest cite of the modern spelling is from 1786 in Burns's Ordination. (The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, however, claims that this is an editorial error and Burns's original manuscript uses the older niger.) The obsolete spelling niger dates to 1574. It comes from the Latin meaning black. It shares this common root with negro.

    The offensiveness of the term has increased over time, especially in the 20th century. Two 16th century quotes that are commonly cited in dictionaries are from scholarly tracts. A 1700 quote by judge Samuel Sewall uses the term in a denunciation of slavery. Gradually, however, polite discourse increasingly used the term negro (which dates to at least 1555) and nigger became relegated to the vulgar tongue, increasing in offensiveness over the centuries.

    So for example, when Mark Twain uses the word in Huckleberry Finn, by the standards of his day he is not being especially offensive (although even then it was a term that would not be used in polite society), but is using the term as a marker of class and socio-economic status of the characters who utter it.

    In the 20th century of course, it has become extremely offensive. It, along with cunt are just about the only taboo words in American discourse today (it's interesting that the most offensive terms have strong racial or gender discrimination components). About the only acceptable use is in Black English when African-Americans use it to refer to themselves. (There is a similar reclamation of the word queer among homosexuals to rob the term of its offensiveness of the term by using it to refer to themselves.)

    It is etymologically unrelated to the word niggard.

    Comments

    • Its only offensive of your Black. I can think of other words that are even more offensive like HATE that you seem to dwell upon.

      Alan_S9991

      by Alan_S9991 on January 3rd, 2011

    1 comment | Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading What is the origin of the racist word "nigger"?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

Answerbag

a Demand Media company