Standard Lemma guide

negress

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈniːɡɹɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A black female.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, literary

Qualifier: now offensive and an ethnic slur

Examples

  • 1995, A. J. Verdelle, The Good Negress (book title)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: negrette, niggerette, niggeress, niggress, nigress, BIPOC, BME, colored, colored person, minority, nonwhite, person of color

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of negress.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a Black woman or girl

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Black, Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid

History

Etymology

From French négresse, from nègre. Equivalent to Negro + -ess.

From French négresse, feminine of nègre, equivalent to Negro + -ess.

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: زِنْجِيَّة (zinjiyya) — black female
  • Arabic: زَنْجِيَّة (zanjiyya) — black female
  • Arabic: سَوْدَاء (sawdāʔ) — black female
  • Belarusian: негрыця́нка (njehrycjánka) — black female
  • Bulgarian: не́гърка (négǎrka) — black female
  • Czech: černoška — black female
  • Danish: negerinde — black female
  • Dutch: negerin — black female
  • Dutch: negervrouw — black female
  • Dutch: zwarte — black female
  • Esperanto: negrino — black female
  • Finnish: neekerinainen — black female
  • French: négresse — black female
  • French: noire — black female
  • German: Negerin — black female
  • German: Mohrin — black female
  • Greek: νέγρη (négri) — black female
  • Greek: αραπίνα (arapína) — black female
  • Italian: nera — black female
  • Italian: negra — black female
  • Lithuanian: negrė — black female
  • Macedonian: црнка (crnka) — black female
  • Persian: ددهسیاه (dade-siyâh) — black female
  • Polish: murzynka — black female
  • Portuguese: negra — black female
  • Romanian: negresă — black female
  • Russian: негритя́нка (negritjánka) — black female
  • Serbo-Croatian: црнкиња — black female
  • Serbo-Croatian: crnkinja — black female
  • Slovak: černoška — black female
  • Spanish: negra — black female
  • Spanish: niche — black female
  • Swedish: negrinna — black female
  • Swedish: negress — black female
  • Ukrainian: му́ринка (múrynka) — black female
  • Ukrainian: негритя́нка (nehrytjánka) — black female