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ni·ger

(nījər)

1. A plant (Guizotia abyssinica) of the composite family native to northeast Africa, having yellow flower heads and grown for its oil-rich seeds, often used for birdseed.

2. A seed of this plant; niger seed.

[From earlier niger seed, probably after the NIGER RIVER in West Africa, where it is widely grown.]

Ni·ger

(nījər, nē-zhâr)

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 1500s. 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.

Niger·i·enn. & adj.

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Niger

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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