mulatto
UK /m(j)ʊˈlætəʊ/ · US /mʊˈlɑtoʊ/ noun
Forms mulattoes mulattos
- noun (historical, now sometimes derogatory) A person of mixed black and white descent, especially a person with one black and one white parent or two mulatto parents.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese and/or Spanish mulato (“of mixed breed, young mule”), from mulo (“mule”), from Latin mūlus (“mule”). Perhaps an allusion to the hybrid origin of mules. Doublet of mulato.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The offspring of a negress by a white man, or of a white woman by a negro, --usually of a brownish yellow complexion.
Etymology [Sp. & Pg. mulato, masc., mulata, fem., of a mixed breed, fr. mulo mule, L. mulus. See Mule.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mulatto”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details