Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “chigger” come from?

chigger (English) comes from English nigger, from English neger, from French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum, from Latin niger, from Proto-Indo-European nókʷts, from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- — bare, naked.

chigger (English): A chigoe , a kind of flea found in tropical...

Definitions

  1. A chigoe , a kind of flea found in tropical...

Ancestry of “chigger”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishniggerA black person; a person of black African...
2EnglishnegerSynonym of nigger
3Frenchnègrenegro; ghostwriter; friend, buddy
4Spanishnegroblack; a black person; ghost writer
5Latinnigrummasculine accusative singular of niger; neuter...
6Latinnigerwan, shining black; bad; evil; ill-omened
7Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
8Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →