mulatto
12
9.9
- noun
- /məˈlæt.oʊ/
- Slur
- Historically, mulatto was a designation for individuals with one Black parent and one White parent.
- mulatto and black
- mulatto and white
- mulatto or negro
Examples
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The crucial role of the mulatto in defining race relations was analyzed earlier by Carl Degler.
Academic text (1997) -
In the past, the term mulatto was used to describe someone of mixed Black and White ancestry.
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One of them was a mulatto.
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- How dare you call my daughter mulatto?
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- I'm just a mulatto.
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I got this mulatto friend who just won half a million dollars in the lotto.
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One night, Mason suggested a game of chess, and the mulatto refused.
Fiction book (2000) -
"You know, my father thought Duvalier was retarded," the mulatto said one night.
Fiction book (2000) -
Sotero Figueroa, who founded Borinquen, was a mulatto journalist and historian.
Academic text (2001) -
The character in the story identified as a mulatto, navigating between two cultures.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mulatto probably comes from the Spanish or Portuguese mula meaning 'mule', an animal born of a horse and a donkey, and so the word once compared a person of mixed Black and White ancestry to a mule, which many people find insulting. Some experts say it may instead come from Arabic muwallad meaning 'mixed-born', but either way the word refers to mixed ancestry and is now considered offensive and outdated.