Langston Hughes Wrote The Word 'Negro'
Oxford English
Dictionary Report:
Negro
OED report In 1940, Langston Hughes wrote: "The word [negro] to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull. Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn 't matter. The word [negro], you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America." When asked about the etymology of the word Negro most people would answer, “oh, it came from slavery,” or “that’s the word they used to keep black people down.” Some people just associate the word Negro with only slavery, not realizing where it came from or how it started.
The word Negro means “A member
of a dark-skinned group of peoples originally native to sub-Saharan Africa; a person of black African origin or descent; a slave (or enfranchised slave) of black African origin or descent, especially in the Southern states of America prior to the Abolition of slavery in 1865. In earlier use it also applied to other dark-skinned peoples.” The word Negro came from the Spanish meaning black person in the 15th century; in 1207 it was used as an adjective in the sense ‘black’. Negro has plural forms like Negroes and Negros. It also has different forms such as Niegro, Negro, Negroe, Nagro, and Neagro. The Portuguese used the word Negro to mean black person in 1460 at the end of the 13th century. In classical Latin Negro was Niger also meaning black. Compared to the French nègre, Italian Negro was used in 1532 as an adjective with reference to race; attested earlier in sense ‘black’ for the 13th century.
The term Negro remained the standard designation throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, and was still used as a standard designation, preferred by prominent black American campaigners such as W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, until the middle years of the 20th century. With the rise of the Black Power movement in the 1960s, the designation black was reclaimed as an expression of racial pride and, since then, the term Negro, together with related terms such as Negress has fallen from favor and is now typically regarded as an out of date or even offensive in both British and American English. Negro is still, however, used in positive contexts as part of the names of certain organizations, particularly the United Negro College Fund, and in historical context, with reference to baseball 's Negro Leagues.
In the Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, the first definition of Negro is used as a noun-describing member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race especially those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa, which is no longer in use. It is also an adjective that is pertaining to, or characteristics 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 especially the indigenous peoples of Africa south of the Sahara. In the year 2013 the word Negro is no longer in use because there are richer and more empowering words that can be used to described African Americans.
Works Cited
"Oxford English Dictionary ." The definitive record of the English language . Third Edition, n.d. Web. 21 Sep 2013. .
Dictionary Report:
Negro
OED report In 1940, Langston Hughes wrote: "The word [negro] to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull. Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn 't matter. The word [negro], you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America." When asked about the etymology of the word Negro most people would answer, “oh, it came from slavery,” or “that’s the word they used to keep black people down.” Some people just associate the word Negro with only slavery, not realizing where it came from or how it started.
The word Negro means “A member
of a dark-skinned group of peoples originally native to sub-Saharan Africa; a person of black African origin or descent; a slave (or enfranchised slave) of black African origin or descent, especially in the Southern states of America prior to the Abolition of slavery in 1865. In earlier use it also applied to other dark-skinned peoples.” The word Negro came from the Spanish meaning black person in the 15th century; in 1207 it was used as an adjective in the sense ‘black’. Negro has plural forms like Negroes and Negros. It also has different forms such as Niegro, Negro, Negroe, Nagro, and Neagro. The Portuguese used the word Negro to mean black person in 1460 at the end of the 13th century. In classical Latin Negro was Niger also meaning black. Compared to the French nègre, Italian Negro was used in 1532 as an adjective with reference to race; attested earlier in sense ‘black’ for the 13th century.
The term Negro remained the standard designation throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, and was still used as a standard designation, preferred by prominent black American campaigners such as W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, until the middle years of the 20th century. With the rise of the Black Power movement in the 1960s, the designation black was reclaimed as an expression of racial pride and, since then, the term Negro, together with related terms such as Negress has fallen from favor and is now typically regarded as an out of date or even offensive in both British and American English. Negro is still, however, used in positive contexts as part of the names of certain organizations, particularly the United Negro College Fund, and in historical context, with reference to baseball 's Negro Leagues.
In the Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, the first definition of Negro is used as a noun-describing member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race especially those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa, which is no longer in use. It is also an adjective that is pertaining to, or characteristics 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 especially the indigenous peoples of Africa south of the Sahara. In the year 2013 the word Negro is no longer in use because there are richer and more empowering words that can be used to described African Americans.
Works Cited
"Oxford English Dictionary ." The definitive record of the English language . Third Edition, n.d. Web. 21 Sep 2013. .