1.7 iRant: Origin of Nigger

This should be an open and shut case really, shouldn't actually be anything to talk about on this one at all...after all the word 'Nigger' doesn't actually exist.

There...done.

No but seriously, I thought I would have a look into the origin of the word Nigger, to see where/why it started. To my surprise, there isn't a reference for the term (well I couldn't find one). Now I know you will (you should) go and do a search straight away and then say "whats he on about, I found this you'll no doubt feel as if everything I've said is a load of cabbage and discredit the rest of the post in your mind?...

I say you'll do that, because I nearly did, until I re-read that wiki page

The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the colour "black".

This is the most important sentence I found on that page because it does two very important things:

1. Tries to fool you into believing the word Nigger actually has some genuine origin
2. Tries to stitch up the Spanish/Portugese for a word that is just the description of a colour in their language.

Ok lets take it back:

Negro is the Spanish/Portugese word that came from the Latin Nigr, which literally means 'black'...as in the colour, not 'black person', 'dirty black', 'filthy black', 'lazy black', just Black...as in the colour. If you still don't understand what I mean then every time you want to buy a garment that happens to be 'black' say Nigr instead.

See something so simple, but yet still somehow we have the word 'Nigger' in full circulation. Now as far as I know Latin is supposed to be the 'father/mother' of all European languages...? (Some historians will probe deeper still and argue that Egyptians gave birth to the verbal/written morality that became Latin and yada yada yada)...these may or may not be valid points but my issue is with the word 'Nigger' and so I don't feel I need to delve any further back *takes deep breath*..."Stay focused Simon"!

So, from Nigr comes Negro, this really should have been the end of it, because in truth English already had the noun 'Black' to describe...well...what we commonly know as 'Black' the colour. So I for the life of me cannot understand how we got from Negro to Nigger. Then again, the French seemed to adopt the world Negré from Negro and they already had the word 'Noir' to describe the colour 'black'...then in 1916 John Rolfe gave account of African Slaves labelling them 'Negars', which I imagine was his own inventive twist on Negro...hold on a minute, this is starting to look like the word Nigger was deliberately invented to be used as a derogative slur to be launched at black people...

iranted and exposed my own ignorance...*smh*