mulattress

1 9.9

An offensive old word for a woman of both Black and white background

noun

Slur

: mulata (ofensiva, arcaica, literaria)

In the late 19th century, many viewed a mulattress as a curiosity, often sidelining her in society.

Examples

He had suspected some misguided extension of Arnaud's hospitality, sending a mulattress to his bed, but it was the same woman he had seen on the gallery when he arrived, Madame Arnaud, presumably.

Fiction book (1993)
He finished the drink in several more cautious sips, while the white woman spoke to the mulattress in Creole.

Fiction book (1993)
The term mulattress reflects outdated attitudes toward race and identity, making it problematic in contemporary discussions.
Historical novels sometimes portray a mulattress navigating the complexities of her mixed heritage.

Surface Forms

mulattress singular

mulattresses plural

Morphology

mulattress = mulatto (transparent) = mulatto + ess

Formed by adding the English feminine suffix '-ess' to 'mulatto' (orthographic loss of the final -o), so the female sense is clearly derived though the term is archaic and offensive.

Etymology

The word mulattress comes from the older word mulatto, from Spanish and Portuguese, and is linked to mule ('child of a horse and a donkey'); the English ending -ess made it mean a woman. Because it compared people to animals, the word is now seen as offensive and outdated, so it should not be used.