Caucasoid race
- noun
- /ˈkɔːkəˌzɔɪd reɪs/
- Slur
:
raza caucasoide
- Modern science has discredited the idea of a Caucasoid race as a valid biological concept.
Examples
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Some old textbooks classify Europeans, North Africans, and West Asians as part of the Caucasoid race.
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In nineteenth-century anthropology, the Caucasoid race was proposed as one of several main racial groups.
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The term Caucasoid race is often criticized for being outdated.
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Many scholars no longer use the term Caucasoid race in their research.
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In nineteenth-century anthropology, the Caucasoid race was proposed as one of several main racial groups.
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Many scholars no longer use the term Caucasoid race in their research due to its outdated connotations.
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Some old textbooks classify Europeans, North Africans, and Southwest Asians under the term Caucasoid race.
Synonyms
6
5.3
A group of people with light skin, often from Europe
6
2.9
People with light skin, often from Europe, who many see as a racial group
1
8.0
An old label for people with light skin who come from Europe and nearby regions
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally predictable: 'Caucasoid' modifies 'race', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a group defined by ‘Caucasoid’ physical traits (i.e. certain light-skinned/European–North African–Southwest Asian features). However, the term’s technical anthropological nature and its sociopolitical status as outdated and potentially offensive are pragmatic facts that are not recoverable from the constituents alone, so full comprehension requires extra cultural/disciplinary knowledge.
Etymology
Caucasoid race may come from an 18th-century scientist who picked a skull from the Caucasus mountains and used it as his example of light-skinned people. That's why the phrase came to mean 'people with light or white skin', but today the idea is outdated and can be offensive.