English
Negress
Negress comes from French négresse ‘female equivalent of nègre: negress’, from nègre ‘negro’, and ultimately from Latin nigrum.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnigrum
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500negro‘black’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘black’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nègre‘black’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘negro’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentnégresse‘female equivalent of nègre: negress’
- EnglishtodayNegress
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnigrum
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500negro‘black’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘black’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nègre‘black’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘negro’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentnégresse‘female equivalent of nègre: negress’
- EnglishtodayNegress
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’
night, naked, nude, gymnastics, noir, nocturnal, gymnasium, actin, gymnast, naga, nox, denigrate, nocturne, nigella, nudism, negroni, 50 more
through Latin nigrum
through Middle French nègre ‘black’
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin nigrum / Negress