Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “niggerishness” come from?

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

niggerishness (English): The quality of being niggerish

Definitions

  1. The quality of being niggerish

Ancestry of “niggerishness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishniggerishLike or characteristic of a nigger
2EnglishniggerA black person; a person of black African...
3EnglishnegerSynonym of nigger
4Frenchnègrenegro; ghostwriter; friend, buddy
5Spanishnegroblack; a black person; ghost writer
6Latinnigrummasculine accusative singular of niger; neuter...
7Latinnigerwan, shining black; bad; evil; ill-omened
8Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
9Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →