nigger (English)

Where does "nigger" come from?

This word traces its linguistic roots to the Latin adjective 'niger', which means 'black' and likely shares an ancestral origin with the Proto-Indo-European root 'negʷ-' meaning 'bare' or 'naked'. First appearing in English around 1577, it entered the language alongside various continental cognates like the Dutch and German 'neger'. Its pronunciation evolved over time, reflecting a long and deeply controversial history that shifted from a basic color descriptor to a highly offensive racial slur.

Full etymology tree

• nigger (English), 'A black person; a person of black African descent.'
  • inherited niger (Latin), 'wan, shining black (as opposed to āter, dull black)'
    • inherited *negʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'bare, naked'
      • inherited *dʰnegʷ- (Proto-Indo-European)

Direct ancestors

• niger (Latin)
• neger (Danish)
• neger (Swedish)
• Neger (German)
• neger (Dutch)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris