[Ads-l] Antedating of the Euphemism "N Word"

Shapiro, Fred fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Tue Apr 2 01:50:49 UTC 2024


N-word (OED 1985 [20 June])

1985 _Philadelphia Daily News_ 14 Feb. 39 / 3 (Newspapers.com)  The kid who was talking it, rapping, I think it's known as, stopped when he heard the 'n' word, which was pronounced with all of its six letters.

NOTE: I would welcome any earlier citations for "n-word" that anyone else can find.

Fred Shapiro



------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


More information about the Ads-l mailing list