Negroid
/ˈniː.ɡrɔɪd/noun
An outdated, offensive racial classification once used for people of sub-Saharan African descent.
Did you know?Negroid was coined in 19th-century racial typology from Latin niger, meaning “black,” plus the Greek suffix -oid, meaning “resembling,” and it is now considered offensive and scientifically invalid.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
niger
“black, dark”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-oeidēs
“having the form of, resembling”
19th Century
English
Negroid
“a racial category used in physical anthropology for peoples thought to resemble “the Negro type””
20th Century
English
Negroid
“a now-discredited and offensive racial label”
Modern English
English
Negroid
“obsolete and offensive racial classification”
Explore more surprising origins