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Negro

 - 6 dictionary results

Ne⋅gro

  [nee-groh] noun, plural -groes, adjective
Use Negro in a Sentence
–noun
1. Anthropology. a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race, esp. those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa: no longer in technical use.
–adjective
2. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, generally marked by brown to black skin pigmentation, dark eyes, and woolly or crisp hair and including esp. the indigenous peoples of Africa south of the Sahara.
3. being a member of the black peoples of humankind, esp. those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Origin:
1545–55; < Sp and Pg negro black < L nigrum, masc. acc. of niger black

Usage note:
See black.

Ne⋅gro

  [ney-groh; Sp. ne-graw; Port. ne-groo]
–noun
1. a river in NW South America, flowing SE from E Colombia through N Brazil into the Amazon. 1400 mi. (2255 km) long.
2. a river in S Argentina, flowing E from the Andes to the Atlantic. 700 mi. (1125 km) long.
3. a river in SE South America, flowing S from Brazil and W through Uruguay, to the Uruguay River. ab. 500 mi. (800 km) long.
Also called Negro River.
Portuguese, Rio Negro.
Spanish, Río Negro.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Negro
Ne·gro   (nē'grō)   
n.   pl. Ne·groes Often Offensive

  1. A Black person. See Usage Note at black.

  2. A member of the Negroid race. Not in scientific use.


[Spanish and Portuguese negro, black, Black person, from Latin niger, nigr-, black; see nekw-t- in Indo-European roots.]
Ne'gro adj.
Ne·gro   (nā'grō, ně'grō, -grŏŏ)   

  1. A river rising in central Argentina and flowing about 644 km (400 mi) eastward to the Atlantic Ocean.

  2. A river rising in southern Brazil and flowing about 805 km (500 mi) generally southwest to the Uruguay River in central Uruguay.

  3. A river of northwest South America flowing about 2,253 km (1,400 mi) from eastern Colombia to the Amazon River near Manaus, Brazil. Part of its course forms a section of the Colombia-Venezuela border.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Negro 
"member of a black-skinned race of Africa," 1555, from Sp. or Port. negro "black," from L. nigrum (nom. niger) "black," of unknown origin. Use with a capital N- became general early 20c. (e.g. 1930 in "New York Times" stylebook) in ref. to U.S. citizens of African descent, but because of its perceived association with white-imposed attitudes and roles the word was ousted late 1960s in this sense by Black (q.v.).
"Professor Booker T. Washington, being politely interrogated ... as to whether negroes ought to be called 'negroes' or 'members of the colored race' has replied that it has long been his own practice to write and speak of members of his race as negroes, and when using the term 'negro' as a race designation to employ the capital 'N' " ["Harper's Weekly," June 2, 1906]
Negress (1786) is from Fr. négresse, fem. of nègre "negro." Negroid is attested from 1859, a hybrid, with Gk. suffix -oeides "like, resembling."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: Ne·gro
Pronunciation: 'nE-(")grO
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural Negroes
sometimes offensive : a memberof the black race distinguished from members of other races by usually inherited physical and physiological characteristics without regard to language or culture; especially : a memberof a people belonging to the African branch of the black race —Negro adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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