darkey

   A rare variant, in either spelling form, of ‘nigger’, and perhaps slightly less offensive, but little used in modern times. An attempt seems to have been made to substitute this term for ‘nigger’ at one time, and at first it carried no pejorative implications. It soon began to acquire them, however, and was not liked by the black American community. ‘Now, darkey, spring,’ says a slave auctioneer to a black child in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. In Absolute Beginners, by Colin MacInnes, ‘darkie-luvver’ is used as an insult, with ‘luvver’ for ‘lover’ an attempt to indicate substandard pronunciation.