he word “Negro” is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance. The word negro denotes 'black' in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking vocabulary, or from the ancient Latin, niger, 'black', probably from a Proto-Indo-European root *nekw-, 'to be dark', akin to *nokw- 'night'.[1][2]
A specifically female form of the word—negress (sometimes capitalized)—was sometimes used; but, like "Jewess", it has all but completely fallen from use. (An exception is its unusual use in the titles of paintings, drawings[12] and sculptures,[13] largely as an allusion to the formerly common occurrence of the word in such titles, but such usage has dropped off dramatically.) Both terms are considered to be racist and sexist although, as with other racial, ethnic, and sexual words that are seen as pejorative, some people have tried to reclaim the words, for example, the artist Kara Walker.[14]