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Glite Dictionary
⚠️ A person with Down syndrome 👤 Like Mongol peoples ⚠️ Related to Down syndrome
mongoloid

mongoloid

1 9.9
An offensive old adjective used about people with Down syndrome that people should not use
  • adjective
  • /ˈmɒŋɡəˌlɔɪd/
  • Slur
: mongoloide

Surface Forms

mongoloid positive

Morphology

mongoloid = Mongol (opaque) = Mongol + oid

The form is built from 'Mongol' + '-oid', but the offensive Down syndrome sense comes from a racist semantic extension and is not predictable from the component meanings.

Etymology

Mongoloid was formed from Mongol 'people of Mongolia' and the ending -oid 'like', so it once meant 'like Mongols'; doctors later used it to describe people with Down syndrome, but that use is wrong and hurtful, so it is now considered offensive and not used.