I. ˈnē(ˌ)grō, esp South ˈni(ˌ)- or -_grə noun
( -es )
Etymology: Spanish or Portuguese, black, Negro, from Latin nigr-, niger black
1. usually capitalized
a. : a member of the black race of mankind as opposed by classification according to physical features (as skin color, hair form, or body or skeletal characteristics) but without regard to language or culture to members of the Caucasian, Mongoloid, or other races of mankind ; especially : a member of a people belonging to the African branch of the black race and marked typically by dark pigmentation and woolly hair and everted lips and broad flat noses and prognathism
b. : a person of Negro ancestry ; especially : a person whose pigmentation is dark like that of typical African Negroes and who often (as with mulattoes) has other physical characteristics of typical African Negroes
2. : a black to dark grayish yellowish brown — called also Saint Benoit ; see mineral brown
II. adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of Negroes