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Mulattoes

 - 3 dictionary results

mu⋅lat⋅to

[muh-lat-oh, -lah-toh, myoo-] noun, plural -toes, adjective
–noun
1. the offspring of one white parent and one black parent: not in technical use.
2. a person whose ancestry is a mixture of Negro and Caucasian.
–adjective
3. of a light-brown color.

Origin:
1585–95; < Sp mulato young mule, equiv. to mul(o) mule 1 + -ato of unclear orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mu·lat·to   (mŏŏ-lāt'ō, -lä'tō, myŏŏ-)   
n.   pl. mu·lat·tos or mu·lat·toes
  1. A person having one white and one Black parent. See Usage Note at octoroon.

  2. A person of mixed white and Black ancestry.


[Spanish mulato, small mule, person of mixed race, mulatto, from mulo, mule, from Old Spanish, from Latin mūlus.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mulatto 
1595, from Sp. or Port. mulato "of mixed breed," lit. "young mule," from mulo "mule," from L. mulus (fem. mula) "mule," possibly in allusion to hybrid origin of mules. Fem. mulatta is attested from 1622.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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