Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- A country of west-central Africa. The Tuareg and Hausa established states in the late Middle Ages, and the region was dominated by the Songhai and Bornu empires in the 16th century. Niger came under the French sphere of influence after the Conference of Berlin (1884-1885) and was made a separate colony within French West Africa in 1922. It achieved independence in 1960. Niamey is the capital and the largest city. Population: 12,900,000.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An obsolete spelling of nigger.
Wiktionary
- n. A country in Western Africa situated to the north of Nigeria. Official name: Republic of Niger.
- n. A river in Africa that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an African river; flows into the South Atlantic
- n. a landlocked republic in West Africa; gained independence from France in 1960; most of the country is dominated by the Sahara Desert
Etymologies
- Frequently misidentified as derived from the Latin niger ("black"), Niger is derived from a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, likely originally from Ptolomey's descriptions of the valley Gir (a wadi in modern Algeria), and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south. In one local Berber language, "gher" means "watercourse", and thus may have been derived from Berber tales of large river south of the Sahara desert. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“We kept ascending the mountains to the South of Toniba till three o'clock, at which time having gained the summit of the ridge which separates the Niger from the remote branches of the Senegal, I went on a little before; and coming to the brow of the hill, I _once more saw the Niger_ rolling its immense stream along the plain!”
The Journal of a Mission to the Interior of Africa, in the Year 1805
“This report has been included in Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the outing of Valerie Plame, and Paul McNulty, the prosecutor of the AIPAC spy case. recently declassified memo proves that the State Department reported the fact that the NIger documents were forgeries to the CIA 11 days before President Bush made the claim about the Niger uranium based on those documents.”
“Quite often scenarios like this are political problems but the current crisis in Niger is a combination of drought, which caused massive crop failures and locusts.”
“There was a number of prophets in the church at Antioch, and one of them was Simeon, who was called Niger -- that is the Latin word for a black man.”
“Tensions are on the rise in Niger as President Mamadou Tandja moves forward with a referendum that, if passed, would allow the71 year-old leader to modify the constitution and extend his 10-year rule.”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
“It was difficult to find citizen media, blogs, or online forums within Niger discussing the referendum, however bloggers in neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and Chad are closely watching as events unfold. tchad futur writes:”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
“To date, numerous protests in Niger have met with little reaction from the presidency [EPA]”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
“I am presently living in Niger and member of the opposition party.”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
“Coup in Niger: Bloggers sigh in relief at the ousting of President Tandja”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
“It's clear there will be a coup d'Etat in Niger, and that Tandja will be killed.”
Global Voices in English » Niger: Widespread opposition to president’s bid to extend rule
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Niger’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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AFET - ACP countries
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African R... and 68 more...
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Words that sound dirty, but aren't
Inspired by a Candid Camera sketch.
horehound, fugue, ramrod, jocular, thespian, titmouse, masticate, pussyfoot, angina, booby, formicate, hoar and 64 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for Niger.
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