Nigritude
/ˈnɪɡrɪˌtjuːd/noun
A literary or archaic term meaning blackness or the quality of being black.
Did you know?Nigritude is a real but rare learned word built from Latin nigri- (“black”), from the same root family that gave English noir, black-related scientific terms, and the ancient color vocabulary that produced some of Latin’s darkest descriptors.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*nekw-
“A proposed ancestral root associated with death or darkness in some analyses, though the direct lineage here is through Latin color vocabulary.”
Latin
Latin
niger
“Black, dark, or swarthy.”
Late Latin
Latin
nigritūdō
“Blackness; the state or quality of being black.”
Middle English
English
nigritude
“A learned borrowing used in scholarly or poetic contexts for blackness.”
Modern English
English
nigritude
“A rare literary word for blackness.”
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