Origins come from the Latin word negar (black in Latin). from there it has progressed over the years, up until the civil war. around that point in time it was normal to pronounce it nigger. Over the years many slang terms have come from it. Such as ginger which was popular during the integration of baseball (if you witch the n and the first g it spells out nigger). As for the last entry above me i will also go onto say that redneck was never a derogatory term. Ironically it came from white people who worked hard in the sun. They'd come in with their "red necks." So it originally is a term of pride that you worked hard. Many consider it a racist term now but that accusation is far from it's humble origins.
by eric mcericksen October 12, 2008