what is da true meaning of the n word?

Question

i mean like i kno da slaves gave black ppl that name but where did it come from excatly

Answer 1

It means "black". The word for black in many European languages are "*****" or words with similar roots, so the "n-word" originated as a slang for the proper foreign word for black.

Answer 2

The word has an interesting origin that most people don't know about especially, sadly, Americans.

You have to go back to the Civil War when the North fought the South on the issue of slavery. At that time many slaves escaped from the South and fled to the North where they applied to enlist as soldiers to fight against the Confederates. There were so many that special companies were set up which contained black men only and were known as 'Negre' Regiments, the word 'negre' meaning 'black'. The South, on hearing this, and realising how ferociously these men would fight after their humility as slaves passed an edict that if any 'negre' soldier was captured he was to be executed without question. There were to be no black prisoners for fear that if slaves in the South saw them they would rise up in rebellion.

Thus the members of these regiments had no choice when fighting, it was win or die. To be accepted as a 'negre' was a great honour as only the bravest would actually join up in the knowledge of their potential fate.

After the war many kept remnants of their uniforms, proud of their service and were the objects of admiration.

Unfortunately over the years the name 'negre' became corrupted and, like many words, it's original meaning became corrupted. Eventually it was used to describe any black man and in the last fifty years or so has become a derogatory term.

Answer 3

It comes from the Spanish word "*****" which means black. The people in the south pronounced it incorrectly with a long "e" sound... and eventually it was changed to "******" because of mispronunciation. This word became very derogatory and should never be used, except perhaps in literary/movie genre as part of a character. A person who uses it today (when we should all be more enlightened) is out of line.

Hope this helps!

Sue

Answer 4

American Heritage Dictionary -
Cite This Source ***·ger (ngr) Pronunciation Key
n. Offensive Slan.

Used as a disparaging term for a Black person: “You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a ******” (James Baldwin).
Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people.
Used as a disparaging term for a member of any socially, economically, or politically deprived group of people: “Gun owners are the new *******... of society” (John Aquilino).


[Alteration of dialectal neger, black person, from French nègre, from Spanish *****. See *****.]

Answer 5

***** means black in spanish.since our skin is dark that is what we as black people are called...but the white slave masters called the slaves n*ggers...but i dont this that (n*gger) is actually a word.

Answer 6

look it up in the dictionary...it means black, as in the color, in italian

Answer 7

Why?