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one-drop rule

[ wuhn-drop rool ]

noun

  1. U.S. History. a social classification, codified in law in some states during the 20th century, that identifies biracial or multiracial individuals as Black if they have any known Black African ancestry, even from a Black ancestor many generations removed.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of one-drop rule1

First recorded in 1920–25 (as one-drop law ); from the ideology that “one drop” of Black African blood made a person Black

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