miscegenation
- 7 dictionary resultsmis⋅ceg⋅e⋅na⋅tion
[mi-sej-uh-ney-shuh
n, mis-i-juh-] 
| 1. | marriage or cohabitation between a man and woman of different races, esp., in the U.S., between a black and a white person. |
| 2. | interbreeding between members of different races. |
| 3. | the mixing or a mixture of races by interbreeding. |
irreg. < L miscē(re) to mix + gen(us) race, stock, species + -ation; allegedly coined by U.S. journalist David Goodman Croly (1829–89) in a pamphlet published anonymously in 1864
Related forms:
[mis-i-juh-net-ik, mi-sej-uh-] , adjective Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| mis·ceg·e·na·tion (mĭ-sěj'ə-nā'shən, mĭs'ĭ-jə-) n. Cohabitation, sexual relations, marriage, or interbreeding involving persons of different races, especially in historical contexts as a transgression of the law. [Latin miscēre, to mix; see meik- in Indo-European roots + genus, race; see genə- in Indo-European roots + -ation.] mis·ceg'e·na'tion·al adj. |
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Miscegenation
Mis`ce*ge*na"tion\, n. [L. miscere to mix + the root of genus race.] A mixing of races; amalgamation, as by intermarriage of black and white.Cite This Source
miscegenation
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Main Entry: mis·ce·ge·na·tion
Pronunciation: (")mis-"ej-&-'nA-sh&n, "mis-i-j&-'nA-
Function: noun
: a mixture ofraces; especially : marriage or cohabitation between a white person and a member of another race —mis·ce·ge·na·tion·al /-shn&l,-sh&n-&l/ adjective
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miscegenation mis·ceg·e·na·tion (mĭ-sěj'ə-nā'shən, mĭs'ĭ-jə-)
n.
Marriage or sexual relations between individuals of different races.
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miscegenation
marriage or cohabitation by persons of different race. Theories that the anatomical disharmony of children resulted from miscegenation were discredited by 20th-century genetics and anthropology. Although it is now accepted that modern populations are the result of the continuous mixing of various populations since prehistoric times, taboos on miscegenation-in some instances legally enforced-have existed and continue to exist in many race-based societies. In South Africa the official policy of apartheid for many years included legal prohibitions on miscegenation. In the United States many states had laws against interracial marriage until the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional in 1967.
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