Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Negro

Definition: Negro

Negro

Adjective

1. Relating to or characteristic of or being a member of the traditional racial division of mankind having brown to black pigmentation and tightly curled hair.

Noun

1. A person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa).

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "negro" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references)

Etymology: Negro \Ne"gro\, noun; plural Negroes. [Spanish or Portuguese negro, from negro black, Latin niger; perhaps akin to English night.]. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Negro

DomainDefinition

Satire

NEGRO, n. The piece de resistance in the American political problem. Representing him by the letter n, the Republicans begin to build their equation thus: "Let n = the white man." This, however, appears to give an unsatisfactory solution. Source: Devil's Dictionary.

19th Century Satire

One who votes your way. NIGGER One who doesn't. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904.

Dream Interpretation

To dream of seeing a negro standing on your green lawn, is a sign that while your immediate future seems filled with prosperity and sweetest joys, there will creep into it unavoidable discord, which will veil all brightness in gloom for a season.
To dream of seeing a burly negro, denotes formidable rivals in affection and business.
To see a mulatto, constant worries and friction with hirelings is foretold.
To dream of a difficulty with a negro, signifies your inability to overcome disagreeable surroundings. It also denotes disappointments and ill fortune.
For a young woman to dream of a negro, she will be constrained to work for her own support, or be disappointed in her lover.
To dream of negro children, denotes many little anxieties and crosses.
For a young woman to dream of being held by a negro, portends for her many disagreeable duties. She is likely to meet with and give displeasure. She will quarrel with her dearest friends.
Sickness sometimes follows dreams of old negroes.
To see one nude, abject despair, and failure to cope with treachery may follow. Enemies will work you signal harm, and bad news from the absent may be expected.
To meet with a trusty negro in a place where he ought not to be, foretells you will be deceived by some person in whom you placed great confidence. You are likely to be much exasperated over the conduct of a servant or some person under your orders. Delays and vexations may follow.
To think that you are preaching to negroes is a warning to protect your interest, as false friends are dealing surreptitiously with you. To hear a negro preaching denotes you will be greatly worried over material matters and servants are giving cause for uneasiness. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Literature

Negro Fuller says a negro is "God's image cut in ebony." Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Slang

Groe. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Negro

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Negro means black in the Spanish language.

The term negro was formerly used to refer to Sub-Saharan Africans and people with that heritage, such as African Americans. In the mid 20th century it was considered the correct and proper term for African-Americans, but fell out of favor in the late 20th century.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Negro."

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Negro River

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Negro River, the great northern tributary of the Amazon River, has its sources along the watershed between the Orinoco and the Amazon basins, and also connects with the Orinoco by way of the Casiquiare canal. Its main affluent is the Uaupes, which disputes with the headwaters of the Guaviari branch of the Orinoco the drainage of the eastern slope of the "Oriental", Andes of Colombia.

The Negro is navigable for 450 miles above its mouth for 4 feet of water in the dry season, but it has many sandbanks and minor difficulties. In the wet season, it overflows the country far and wide, sometimes to a breadth of 20 miles, for long distances, and for 400 miles up, as far as Santa Isabella, is a succession of lagoons, full of long islands and intricate channels, and the slope of the country is so gentle that the river has almost no current. But just before reaching the Uaupes, there is a long series of reefs, over which it violently flows in cataracts, rapids and whirlpools. The Uaupes is full of similar obstacles, some fifty rapids barring its navigation, although a long stretch of its upper course is said to be free from them, and to flow gently through a forested country. Despite the impediments, canoes ascend this stream to the Andes.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Negro River."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Negro

The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
EntrySourceExpressionField

NEGRO

EnglishNational Economic Growth and Reconstruction OrganizationEconomics

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Synonyms: Negro

Synonyms: black person (n), blackamoor (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Negro

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Pungency

Nicotine, tobacco, snuff, quid, smoke; segar; cigar, cigarette; weed; fragrant weed, Indian weed; Cavendish, fid, negro head, old soldier, rappee, stogy.

Servant

Serf, vassal, slave, negro, helot; bondsman, bondswoman; bondslave; ame damnee, odalisque, ryot, adscriptus gleboe; villian, villein; beadsman, bedesman; sizar; pensioner, pensionary; client; dependant, dependent; hanger on, satellite; parasite; (servility); led captain; protege, ward, hireling, mercenary, puppet, tool, creature.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Negro

English words defined with "negro": AssientoblackfaceChewa, Coffle, Cuffydriblet, dropFoolahsGriffeKroomanLeucoethiopic, Liberiaminstrel showNegroes, negroidOf colorQuasheeRepublic of LiberiaSamboWoolly-headZambo. (references)
Specialty definitions using "negro": Assiento TreatiesBanjo, BROWNCALATHEA ALLOUIA, CALATOLA, CASSIA RETICULATA, CHIMNEY CHOPSgroeJus de ReglisseKICKERAPOO, Ku-Klux-KlanMALACHRANegro Offspring, NO CATCHY NO HAVYOuijaPICKANINYSNOWBALL, SugarTOM. (references)
Etymologies containing "negro": Voodooism. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Negro" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

Esperanto (Negro), Italian (black, blackamoor, blackly, negro, nigger), Papiamen (Negro), Portuguese (black, blackamoor, blacky, darkey, darky, ebon, jim-crow, mirk, murk, negro, nigger, sable, sambo, sooty mold, sooty mould), Spanish (black, black man, blacking, colored, coloured, coon, dark, ebony, gloom, gloomy, jim crow, Negro, nigger, nig-nog, pitchy, Raven, sable, stout).

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Modern Usage: Negro

DomainUsage

Screenplays

An armed Negro cowboy costume in a room full of white, Southern, former slave-owners (Wild Wild West; writing credit: Jim Thomas; John Thomas)

Just think what happened to the African Negro and the American Indian when they came into contact with the Europeans who had more advanced technology (The Tomorrow People; writing credit: Brian Finch)

You're just the next Negro to them (G.I. Jane; writing credit: David Twohy)

Excuse me, I ain't walkin on egg shells just cause you brought the Brady Bunch to the negro club (Save the Last Dance; writing credit: Duane Adler)

I thought I heard Negro. (Bringing Down the House; writing credit: Jason Filardi)

Lyrics

Cause yo, I'm just a fly negro (Keep Their Headz Ringin; performing artist: Dr. Dre)

Movie/TV Titles

O Exorcismo Negro (1974)

Negro es un bello color (1974)

El Poder negro (1974)

Anjo Negro (1972)

Cristo negro (1971)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Negro

DomainTitle

Books

  • Black Ball 2003 Calendar: The Negro Baseball Leagues (reference)

  • Blues People: Negro Music in White America (reference)

  • The Negro Church in America Black Church Since Frazier (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Periodicals

  

Theater & Movies

  • There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues (reference)

    (more DVD examples; more video examples)

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Negro

Photos:
Negro

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Negro

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Negro

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Negro

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

Brazil's Araca River is a tributary of the Negro River, which feeds into the Amazon. Credit: NASA.

Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Great Egret is a common species seen in the lagoons of Mar Negro. They feed on a variety of invertebrates that inhabit these areas. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR).

U.S. American National Red Cross Hospital No.5, Paris, France. : Showing a Negro patient. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Line engraving published in "The Soldier in Our Civil War", Volume II, page 187. It depicts scenes on board the monitor, probably at about the time she was completed in December 1862. The views include a view in the officers' ward room, with negro messmen at work, and several vignettes of ordnance equipment. Credit: NAVY.

Architectural drawing for a school ("Rosenwald School for Negro Children") for the Rosenwald Foundation, La Jolla, San Diego, California. Credit: Library of Congress.

The Freedman's Bureau! An agency to keep the Negro in idleness at the expense of the white man. Twice vetoed by the President, and made a lawy by Congress. Support Congress & you support the Negro Sustain the President & you protect the white man. Credit: Library of Congress.

Dreadful Riot on Negro Hill!. Credit: Library of Congress.

If you strike that negro one blow --. Credit: Library of Congress.

He found his rooms tenanted by a negro boy bound and gagged, bruised and sore. Credit: Library of Congress.

Gold teeth for Negro prizefighter. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Negro
 

"Bridge Clouds" by Julian Sutter
Commentary: "This is a train bridge in Argentina... called puente Negro.. in the college im doing an exchange program at... we walk there every weekend... not much to do."
"Serafico" by Djalma Patricio
Commentary: "Rio Negro, Parana."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Familiar Quotations: Negro

AuthorQuotation

Adam Clayton Powell

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, colored men looking for loans and whites who "understand the Negro."

Alexandre Dumas

My father was a Creole, his father a Negro, and his father a monkey; my family, it seems begins where yours left off.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: Negro

AuthorDateQuotation

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

In none of these cases was it necessary to re-examine the doctrine to grant relief to the Negro plaintiff. (reference)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1963

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1895)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Negro

TitleAuthorQuote

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Homer Hogu, negro.

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Some say that he was a Guinea Negro.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Negro

SubjectTopicQuote

Business

Furthermore, Neuquen, Rio Negro, La Pampa, Santa Fe and La Rioja are all following suit and introducing beneficial renewable energy legislation. (references)

More than USD 2 billion will be invested in the development of the refining complexes of the ongoing "strategic alliances" (Hamaca, Sincor, Cerro Negro and Petrozuata). (references)

Economic History

Liberia

The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship only to people of Negro descent. (references)

Malawi

At another site, dated 1500 BC, the remains possess features resembling Negro and Bushman people. (references)

Suriname

The Venetiaan government was able to effect a settlement to Suriname's domestic insurgency through the August 1992 Peace Accord with Bush Negro and Amerindian rebels. (references)

Minorities

Liberia

Although the Constitution bans ethnic discrimination, it also provides that only "persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent" may be citizens or own land. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Negro

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

William H. Taft

1909-1913Therefore the Executive, in recognizing the Negro race by appointments, must exercise a careful discretion not thereby to do it more harm than good.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Negro

"Negro" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 93.75% of the time. "Negro" is used about 160 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)93.75%15025,701
Noun (proper)6.25%10111,207
                    Total100.00%160N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Name Usage Frequency: Negro

The following table summarizes the usage of "negro" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons
Rank in USA
NegroLast name17042,700
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Negro

Expressions using "negro": El Negro negro bug negro corn negro fly negro head negro monkey negro peach negro pepper negro question negro race negro spiritual negro vine. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "negro": negro-dealer, Negro-quiagara.

Ending with "negro": anti-negro, half-negro.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Negro

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

negro rent

310

blanco fotos negro y

24

negro.com rent

309

negro turbo

23

negro

301

negro league baseball jersey

23

negro league

196

league museum negro

22

america ayo damali in negro race rent satire satirical site web

141

negro league apparel

21

negro league baseball

136

anthem national negro

20

negro spiritual

121

miseducation negro

19

college fund negro united

120

negro baseball

18

negro league jersey

75

en blanco y negro

18

humor negro

62

negro sex

18

council national negro woman

51

mercado negro

17

beso negro

47

negro problem

17

rio negro

46

gato negro

17

agujero negro

41

blanco y negro

16

the negro speaks of river

38

el gato negro

14

negro league baseball museum

31

education journal negro

13

diario negro rio

31

com negro rent

13

sexo negro

25

del negro

13

buraco negro

24

hoyo negro

13

negro league hat

24

joke negro

13

jersey league negro throwback

13
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Negro

Language Translations for "negro"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaans

  

swarte. (various references)

   

Albanian

  

zezak (black, ebony). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏زنجي (black, coon, rank), ‏القزم الزنجاني الإ فريقي, ‏الزنجي (jim crow), ‏أسود (black, blacken, blackly, ebony, lions, raven, sable). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

негърски, негър (black, blackamoor, jim crow, sambo). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

黑人 (Negroes). (various references)

   

Czech

  

èernoch (jim crow, sambo). (various references)

   

Danish

  

tandhjulsrigiditet (cogwheel phenomenon, Negro phenomenon), tandhjulsfaenomen (cogwheel phenomenon, Negro phenomenon), freijo (Brazilian walnut, cordia wood, freijo, jenny wood, laurel negro, salmwood). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

zwart (black, pessimistic), neger-. (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

negro, negra. (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

blámaður. (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

کاکا, سیاه پوست (Ethiopian), سیاه (Black, Grimy, Jetty, Sooty), زنگی . (various references)

   

Finnish

  

neekeri. (various references)

   

French

  

nègre. (various references)

   

Frisian

  

neger. (various references)

   

German

  

Neger (gobo, idiot card, negroes). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

νέγροσ (black), μαύροσ (black, colored, coloured, pitchy, sable), αράπησ (arab, black), αιθίοψ (colored). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

כושי (black, ethiopian, moor). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

szerecsen (black, blackamoor, Blacky, dark-skinned, moor, moorish, saracen), sötét bőrű (dark-skinned), néger (african, black, blacky, buffalo, coon, dark-skinned, negroe, nig, nig-nog, spook). (various references)

   

Icelandic

  

negri, svertingi. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

orang negro. (various references)

   

Italian

  

negro (black, blackamoor, blackly). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

黒人霊歌 (Negro spiritual), ニクロム線 (Negro spiritual, nichrome wire, nicotine). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ニグロスピリチュアル (Negro spiritual), こくじんれいか (Negro spiritual). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

흑인 (Negroes). (various references)

   

Manx

  

dooinney gorrym, dooinney doo (black man). (various references)

   

Papiamen

  

negro, neger. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

egronay.(various references)

   

Polish

  

Murzyn. (various references)

   

Portuguese

  

negro (black, blackamoor, blacky, ebon, jim-crow, mirk, murk, sable, sambo). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

negru (black, blackened, Brown, coon, dark, dirtiness, dirty, foul, ghost writer, grimy, hidden, jim crow, penny-a-liner, sable, sun-burnt, swarthy, tawny, wicked), de rasã neagrã. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

негритянский, негр негритянский, негр (afro-american, blackamoor, blacky, coon, negro man, sambo). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

crnac (black, blackamoor, jig), crnački (black, colored, coloured), crn (black, dark, inky, jet, raven). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

negro (black, black man, blacking, colored, coloured, coon, dark, ebony, gloom, gloomy, jim crow, nig-nog, pitchy, Raven, sable, stout). (various references)

   

Sranan

  

nengre, blakaman. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

neger (coon). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

zenci (african, black, blackamoor, Blackie, Blacky, buck, colored, coloured, coon, crow, jim crow, moke, negroid, sambo, spade, uncle), arap (Arab, arabian, arabic). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

чорний (black, dark), темношкірий, негритянський (ethiopian, negritic, non-european, race, soul), негритянка (negress), негр (buck, ethiopian, non-european). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

người da đen (quashee), đen. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Negro

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

aethiopes, aethiopi, aethiopis, aethiops, aethiopum, niger. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Negro

Derivations

Words beginning with "negro": negroid, negroids, negroni, negronis, negrophobe, negrophobes, negrophobia, negrophobias. (additional references)

Words containing "negro": winegrower, winegrowers. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Negro" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Nagorno, Nawroz, Negere, nego, negor, Negret, negroni, Negru, Nereo, nergo, Nerio, Nevros, Neyra, Nghon, Ngiro, Nguoi, nigri, nigro, Nipro, Nugroho, Nuoro, Nyiro. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Anagrams: Negro

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: genro, goner.

Words within the letters "e-g-n-o-r"

-1 letter: ergo, goer, gone, gore, ogre.

-2 letters: ego, eng, eon, erg, ern, gen, gor, nog, nor, one, ore, reg, roe.

-3 letters: en, er, go, ne, no, oe, on, or, re.

 Words containing the letters "e-g-n-o-r"
 

+1 letter: conger, eringo, eryngo, genros, goners, gorhen, govern, groyne, ignore, longer, monger, morgen, onager, orange, orgone, region, tonger.

 

+2 letters: acrogen, begroan, burgeon, congers, coreign, cryogen, engorge, engross, erelong, eringos, eroding, eryngos, foreign, forgone, frogmen, genitor, gorhens, governs, groaned, groaner, groined, groynes, guerdon, ignored, ignorer, ignores, kerogen, leghorn, longers, lounger, marengo, mongers, mongrel, morgens, negator, negroid, negroni, onagers, oranges, orangey, oregano, orgones, orogeny, overing, perigon, pirogen, presong, progeny, pronged, pyrogen, redoing, regions, regrown, rontgen, roughen, signore, sponger, surgeon, tongers, undergo, wagoner, wronged, wronger, younger, zeroing.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Images: Digital Art
9. Quotations: Familiar
10. Quotations: Historic
11. Quotations: Fiction
12. Quotations: Non-fiction
13. Quotations: Speeches
14. Usage Frequency
15. Names: Frequency
16. Expressions
17. Expressions: Internet
18. Translations: Modern
19. Translations: Ancient
20. Abbreviations
21. Acronyms
22. Derivations
23. Anagrams
24. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.