Caucasian

[ kaw-key-zhuhn, -shuhn, -kazh-uhn, -kash- ]

adjective

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe, parts of North Africa, western Asia, and India.
2. white ( def 3 ):

   a brown-haired Caucasian female with a tattoo on her left shoulder.

3. of or relating to the Caucasus mountain range.
4. Linguistics. of or related to the non-Indo-European, non-Turkic languages of the Caucasus region.

noun

1. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Caucasian race, especially those peoples having light to fair skin.
2. a white person:

   The chef at this awesome new Indian restaurant is actually a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian from Montana.

3. a native of Caucasia.

Caucasian

/ -ʒən; kɔːˈkeɪzɪən; kɔːˈkeɪzɪk /

adjective

1. old-fashioned.
   another word for Caucasoid
2. of or relating to the Caucasus

noun

1. a White person; a Caucasoid
2. a native or inhabitant of Caucasia
3. any of three possibly related families of languages spoken in the Caucasus: North-West Caucasian, including Circassian and Abkhaz, North-East Caucasian , including Avar, and South Caucasian including Georgian

Usage

The word Caucasian is very widely used in the US to refer to people of European origin or people who are White, even though the original classification was broader than this

Other Words From

• non-Cau·casian adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Caucasian¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin Caucas(eus), Caucas(ius), derivative of Caucasus, from Greek Kaúkasos; + -ian adjective suffix; Caucasus, -ian

Example Sentences

A 26-year-old man has been arrested in the case that has shocked the small South Caucasian nation.

From BBC

“People think Republicans are representative of just rich people or Caucasians.”

From Los Angeles Times

In 2019, another northern Virginia tech firm, Cynet Systems, apologized after posting an online ad seeking “preferably Caucasian” applicants for an account manager job in Florida.

From Seattle Times

"However, Dr. McGonagle was noting this explosive trend of cases in Caucasians."

From Science Daily

“It is the moment I realized that if I want to stay in America, I have to do a movie about Caucasian people,” said Phanxinê, who goes by a one-name moniker professionally.

From Seattle Times