Posted by Paul on January 03, 2006 at 02:22:02 from 61.210.184.35 user kobegaijin.
Re Jock's message
"I suspect that this usage is much older than the English language itself"
In fact in PD when CF starts to explain the origin of the labels on
the bags of pearls, he says "The chap that wrote those labels had had the things from a Protuguese pearl-fisher. Or a Brazilian, perhaps.
One of those South Americans with a whole lot of LATIN at the back of their own lingo". (Shades of ML and Roger's proficiency!!)
The "n" word obviously comes from the Latin for "black" and does therefore pre-date the "English" language as we now know it.