Past tense of denigrate; treated or spoken of as unworthy, inferior, or contemptible; unfairly criticized or belittled.
From Latin 'denigrare' (de- 'away' + nigrare 'to blacken' from niger 'black'), originally meaning to make black or dirty, evolving to mean damaging one's reputation.
The word 'denigrate' literally means 'to blacken,' which means the word itself carries an uncomfortable etymological connection between 'blackness' and 'badness'—a linguistic fossil of older prejudices baked into English.
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