zambo
1
9.9
A rude old word for a person who has African and Native American ancestors
- noun
- /ˈzæmboʊ/
- Slur
:
zambo (término ofensivo)
- A Zambo...
Examples
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The colonial records often referred to a zambo community that lived on the fringes of both African and Indigenous cultures.
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In the 19th century, the term zambo was often used to describe individuals of mixed African and Indigenous American ancestry.
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Historically, a zambo person faced discrimination and marginalization in society due to their mixed heritage.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Zambo comes from Spanish and Portuguese colonial labels and likely traces back to an African or Iberian word meaning 'bow-legged'. A helpful way to remember it is that colonial records used the short word zambo to mark people of mixed African and Indigenous American background, which is why the term today is seen as outdated and offensive.