Where does “petit nègre” come from?
petit nègre (French) comes from French nègre, from Spanish negro, from Latin nigrum, from Latin niger, from Proto-Indo-European nókʷts, from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- — bare, naked.
petit nègre (French): a pidgin language that West African soldiers historically used to communicate with the occupying French army
Definitions
- a pidgin language that West African soldiers historically used to communicate with the occupying French army
Ancestry of “petit nègre”, step by step
petit nègre traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French nègre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | nègre | negro; ghostwriter; friend, buddy |
| 2 | Spanish | negro | black; a black person; ghost writer |
| 3 | Latin | nigrum | masculine accusative singular of niger; neuter... |
| 4 | Latin | niger | wan, shining black; bad; evil; ill-omened |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | nókʷts | night |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | negʷ- | bare, naked |