nègre

See also: negre, négre, Negre, and Nègre

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French negre, from Spanish negro or Portuguese negro, itself from Latin niger. Doublet of noir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛɡʁ/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /naɛ̯ɡʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

nègre m (plural nègres, feminine négresse)

1. (vulgar, offensive or dated) negro

   Synonyms: négro, noir

2. (now sometimes offensive) ghostwriter

   un nègre littéraire

3. (informal, derogatory, Louisiana, Cajun) friend, buddy
4. (informal, Louisiana, Cajun) honey, baby, precious (term of endearment)

Usage notes

• The term was not considered offensive a few decades ago, referring merely to the colour of the skin.
• In Cajun French, nègre has no racial connotation. It is a term of endearment for a young boy.
• The preferred form for ghostwriter is prête-plume, as the term nègre has pejorative connotations. The expression is still largely used, sometimes in the softened form nègre littéraire, perhaps because this meaning is strongly metaphorical and only distantly related.

Derived terms

• nèg
• nègre littéraire
• négritude
• petit nègre
• tête de nègre

Descendants

• German: Neger (Negerin)
• → Swedish: neger
  • → Finnish: neekeri
• Russian: негр (negr)

Adjective

nègre (plural nègres)

1. (relational) of the Blacks of Africa or of African arts
2. black (color)

Usage notes

• This term is not considered pejorative as an adjective, but due to the associations of the noun, is often replaced with africain.

Derived terms

• alouette nègre
• Alouette nègre (“black lark”), Melanocorypha yeltoniensis (Alouette can be spelled with a “capital A” to emphasize the French name of the species) (cf. German: Mohrenlerche and Mohr)

Related terms

• négroïde

See also

• mélanoderme

Further reading

• “nègre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• gêner, genre, règne, régné