mestizo

[ me-stee-zoh, mi- ]

noun

, plural mes·ti·zos, mes·ti·zoes.

1. a person of mixed racial or ethnic ancestry, especially, in Latin America, of mixed Indigenous and European descent or, in the Philippines, of mixed Indigenous and foreign descent. mestiza ( def ).

mestizo

/ mɛˈstiːzə; mɛˈstiːzəʊ; mɪ- /

noun

1. a person of mixed parentage, esp the offspring of a Spanish American and an American Indian

Derived Forms

• mestiza, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of mestizo¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Spanish, noun use of adjective mestizo, from Vulgar Latin mixtīcius (unrecorded) “mixed”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mestizo¹

C16: from Spanish, ultimately from Latin miscēre to mix

Example Sentences

He was the son of a Spanish captain and a palla — a member of Incan royalty — making him mestizo.

From New York Times

“We have contaminated things par excellence, and only by accepting mixture do we become ourselves and our own. There’s not a single sci-fi concept we haven’t taken and adapted to our context, turned mestizo‌.”

From New York Times

Her mother asked how she could prefer “Latinx” to “Mexican” or “mestizo” — used in Latin America to describe someone of mixed Indigenous and European descent.

From Washington Post

Underneath it, he would write-in “mestizo” to describe his Mexican American heritage.

From Washington Post

The largely indigenous region has for centuries been at odds with the more mestizo and whiter capital, which long dominated national politics.

From Reuters