nègre

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

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

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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)

• 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.

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

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

nègre (plural nègres)

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

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

• 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)

• négroïde

• mélanoderme

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

• gêner, genre, règne, régné