Dictionary formniger, nigra, nigrum
Translation
black, dark; gloomy
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Examples
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A black horse was standing in the field.
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A black cloud held the sky.
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She was wearing a black garment.
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He made a statue out of black stone.
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There were black shadows in the wood.
Niger, nigra, nigrum, first-and-second declension. The e of the masculine nominative is a prop and drops out everywhere else: nigri, nigro, nigrum, nigrorum. Comparative nigrior, superlative nigerrimus with the doubled r.
Latin has two blacks and they are not the same. Niger is glossy, lustrous black - hair, a raven, polished stone. Ater is dull, dead black, and it takes the moral weight: an atra dies is a day of disaster, an ater animus a malignant one. Poets blur the line, but prose usually keeps it. Italian nero, Spanish negro and French noir all descend from niger, and English takes denigrate, literally to blacken, and negro through Spanish.
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niger: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "niger" (black, dark; gloomy): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 7, lesson 4: niger, iustus, gradus and 6 more words.