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Originally Posted by basschick

i'd like to see what a dictionary from before 1900 says about the word "nigger". after all, a newer dictionary is likely to define a word in a modern way, and meanings do change.

The first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1888. The first complete edition was published in 1933.

Whilst the latest edition of a dictionary might hopefully include an up-to-date definition of the headword (ie the word you are looking up), lexicographers (ie authors or editors of dictionaries) of authoritative and reputable dictionaries do not, as a rule, jettison older definitions, when a dictionary is updated.

Etymologies (ie development of a word since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language), word derivations, are of immense value to lexicographers.

Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language was first published in 1890.

The 1890 and 1913 editions are available on-line.

The word "nigger" does not appear to be in the 1890 edition, however according to the 1913 edition:

Nigger (Page: 975)
Nig"ger (?), n. A negro; -- in vulgar derision or depreciation.

Consequently, the word "nigger" has been known to be offensive for at least 98 years.

According to Merriam-Webster on-line, the first known use of the word "nigger" is 1574.

Unless you think is it likely that during 13 or more previous years, the meaning of the word changed from one of neutrality to insult, then I think is reasonable to assume that the word has been an insult since before 1900, most probably long before 1900.

The American Civil War ended 35 years before 1900. That is little over a generation. Memories of the civil war would have been just as fresh in people's memories then, as the Vietnam War, which ended a similar time ago, is for people now.

Slavery, in the US, ended officially in 1865 (with the end of the American Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution).

It is worth noting that Britain was heavily involved in the slave trade.

"... It is thought between 1700 and 1810 British merchants transported almost three million Africans across the Atlantic. More than 30,000 slave voyages took place ... Much of Bristol's 18th Century wealth came from the slave trade ..."

Given all the controversy and bitter enmity stirred up by the slave trade, in the Americas and Europe, and the American Civil War, not to mention the appalling treatment of the slaves themselves, I think it absolutely beggars belief to imagine that between then and 1900 (or 1913), the meaning of the word changed from one of neutrality to insult!

The civil war, in which around 360,000 people died, was all about slavery - about racial differences. The word "nigger" is a racial insult. It is derogatory. It implies that one race is superior to another. When used by whites, it is a slur.

I consider all forms of racism to be completely abhorrent, and racism in the US no less so. People are not born racist, rather children learn racism from older people. As you have probably gathered by now, I am vehemently anti-racism. I find racism completely obnoxious.

I grew up in West and North Africa, and attended an American school there. There were 13 different nationalities in my class, including a mixture of different races. We all played happily together. There was no racism there. However, I soon encountered racism as I grew up.

People often make a lot of assumptions. We all have prejudices, but people are not born with prejudices. Children acquire their prejudices, as with racism, as they grow up. I bet that some of the people reading this will have made an assumption about the colour of my skin, simply because I grew up in Africa and believe that racism=ignorance. Perhaps my skin is black, because I lived in West Africa, or maybe you think I am an Arab - or Muslim, because I lived in North Africa. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I am a white atheist. In fact, I was born in England and both my parent served in the armed forces during WWII. Later, I attended high school in the US.

I have had the good fortune to have lived and worked in, and visited, many different countries, on several continents, during my life, and I have always found it a great pleasure to encounter people of different nationalities, and from different races and cultures. I have known, ever since I was a small child, that the word "nigger" is offensive. Ever since we sang that children's counting rhyme, that begins, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", all those long years ago, in the playground, and when some kind and thoughtful teach explained to us why the word "nigger" is offensive.

By the way, as it was an international school, not all the teachers were American - my mother was one of them. And yes, later when I was older, we read Twain, along with books like Little Women and the Hardy Boys. I survived the ordeal. I grew up seeking the truth about all things in the universe, including our world.

I am living proof that someone can read unexpurgated editions of Twain's books and without necessarily growing up either using the word "nigger" and/or as a racist. As children grow up, they need to learn about the real world, warts and all, for we ignore history at our peril. Of course, children need guidance along the way. Please try not to make assumptions about people.

Whilst the word "nigger" might now be used by some black people as a mildly disparaging way of referring to another black person, that does not make its use by any white person any less offensive.