nègre
French
editEtymology
editInherited from Middle French negre, from Spanish or Portuguese negro, itself from Latin niger. Doublet of noir.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnègre m (plural nègres, feminine négresse)
- (vulgar, offensive or dated) negro
- (now sometimes offensive) ghostwriter
- un nègre littéraire
- (informal, derogatory, Louisiana, Cajun) friend, buddy
- (informal, Louisiana, Cajun) honey, baby, precious (term of endearment)
Usage notes
edit- 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
editDescendants
editAdjective
editnègre (plural nègres)
- (relational) of the Blacks of Africa or of African arts
- black (color)
Usage notes
edit- This term is not considered pejorative as an adjective, but due to the associations of the noun, is often replaced with africain.
Derived terms
edit- 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
editSee also
editFurther reading
edit- “nègre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
editCategories:
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms derived from Spanish
- French terms derived from Portuguese
- French terms derived from Latin
- French doublets
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- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French vulgarities
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- French dated terms
- French informal terms
- French derogatory terms
- Louisiana French
- Cajun French
- French adjectives
- French relational adjectives