African nation, named for the river Niger, mentioned by that name 1520s (Leo Africanus), probably an alteration (by influence of Latin niger "black") of a local Tuareg name, egereou n-igereouen, from egereou "big river, sea" + n-igereouen, plural of that word. Translated in Arabic as nahr al-anhur "river of rivers."

people of the upper Niger region of West Africa, 1620s.

Niger-Congo language family (including Ibo and Yoruba), 1857.

1958, from French, literally "black film," from noir (12c.), from Latin niger (see Negro).

"dog-eating," 1835, from Latin canis "dog" (from PIE root *kwon- "dog") + -vorous "eating, devouring."

African people of Senegal and Gambia. Also the name of the Niger-Congo language they speak.

chief language of Ghana in West Africa; also known as Akan, it is in the Niger-Congo language family.

"the rabble, the lowest order of people collectively," 1670s, from French canaille (16c.), from Italian canaglia, literally "a pack of dogs," from cane "dog," from Latin canis (from PIE root *kwon- "dog").

West African nation, named for river Niger, which runs through it, + country name ending -ia. Related: Nigerian.

"a carnivorous mammal of the Canidae family" (dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals), 1879, from Modern Latin Canidae, from Latin canis "dog" (from PIE root *kwon- "dog") + -idae.