Adrian Stacey writes: > C Falconer wrote: > > On Tue, 2002-09-10 at 05:18, Andrew Tarr wrote: > > > >>We coded in minix using paper tape which we would have to make out of > >>our own reference manuals, which management would buy for us yearly, > >>but only if we denigrated ourselves in front of them.... > > > > > >>From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: > > > > Not terribly PC that, was it? >
If you are referring to the reference to "niger" meaning black, well, in Latin, "niger" does mean black, and in fact is where negro, nigger, etc, orgininaly come from. I believe it is pronounced with a long "i" but I could very well be wrong about that. If you are referring to the very use of anything meaning "blacken" to mean something bad, well, English (and European culture generally, I think) is rife with black=bad ideas. Black mark besides ones name, black heart, black market, etc. In either case, the usage predates black slavery and racism. Actually, it wasn't the word I really wanted in any case. There's a word I want, and I can't think of it, it's something like "prostrate" or "perjure" or something Andrew.
