Etymograph

English

nigrosine

Nigrosine comes from Latin niger ‘black’, from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’, and perhaps ultimately from *nókʷts ‘night’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nókʷts1‘night’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-1‘bare, naked’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEniger2‘black’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1954nigrosine2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin niger
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English nigrosine
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Ian Fleming, Beau Desert: “The most successful form of shark repellent, according to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nókʷtsWiktionary, Latin niger‘night’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-Wiktionary, Latin niger‘bare, naked’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnigerWiktionary, English nigrosine‘black’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1954nigrosineWiktionary, English nigrosine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Ian Fleming, Beau Desert: “The most successful form of shark repellent, according to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts ‘night’

nights, nightly, 25 more

through Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’

night, naked, nude, gymnastics, nocturnal, negro, gymnast, gymnasium, naga, actin, nox, nocturne, nudism, 49 more

through Latin niger ‘black’

noir, niger, nigger, denigrate, nigella, negroni, 16 more

Today it means

noun A dark blue synthetic dyestuff of the induline group.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nigrosine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin niger. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts / nigrosine

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