miscegenation
/mɪˌsɛd͡ʒ.əˈneɪ.ʃən/ noun
Forms miscegenations
- noun (chiefly US) The mixing or blending of race in marriage or breeding, interracial marriage.
- noun (figuratively) A mixing or blending, especially one which is considered to be inappropriate.
Synonyms
miscegeny race mixing race mixer crossbreeding interbreeding
Etymology
Blend of Latin miscēre (“mix”) + Latin genus (“race”) + -ation. Coined by American journalist David Goodman Croly in 1864 and first used in an anonymous pamphlet he coauthored, which claimed to be written by a person who believed in the inherent unity of all racial groups, that marriage between blacks and whites would create a better race, and that the American Civil War was a fight for the latter idea. Later, it was exposed that the pretext of the pamphlet was false and that it had actually been written by a group which hoped to inflame anger, particularly against then-US President Abraham Lincoln who was up for reelection.
Replaced previous amalgamation, from metallurgy.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A mixing of races; amalgamation, as by intermarriage of black and white.
Etymology [L. miscere to mix + the root of genus race.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “miscegenation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details