Métis

¹

[ Canadian mey-tee; mey-tee, -tees ]

noun

, plural Mé·tis [mey, -tee, mey, -teez, mey-, tee, -, teez].

1. Canadian. a person of mixed First Nations and European ancestry: a member of the Métis Nation, recognized constitutionally as one of Canada’s rights-bearing Indigenous peoples.
2. métis, any person of mixed racial ancestry.

adjective

1. Canadian. belonging or relating to the Métis:

   Métis communities developed along the fur trade routes.

2. métis, being of mixed racial ancestry.

Metis

²

[ mee-tis ]

noun

, Classical Mythology.

1. a Titaness, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and the mother of Athena by Zeus. Zeus swallowed Metis, and Athena was born from his head.

Métis

/ mɛˈtiːs; mɛˈtiːs /

noun

1. a person of mixed parentage
2. 1. the offspring or a descendant of a French Canadian and a North American Indian
   2. a member or descendant of a group of such people, who established themselves in Manitoba and Saskatchewan as a distinct political and cultural force during the nineteenth century
3. a person having one eighth Black ancestry; octoroon

Derived Forms

• Métisse, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of Métis¹

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, Middle French, from Late Latin mixtīcius “of mixed blood”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Métis¹

C19: from French, from Vulgar Latin mixtīcius (unattested) of mixed race; compare mestizo

Example Sentences

Bellingham-based artist Natasha Donovan, who is Métis — a recognized Canadian aboriginal people with mixed European and Indigenous ancestry — drew the illustration, which depicts Adam speaking next to fishermen on a river under a sunset.

From Seattle Times

Mr Beauvais, 68, was raised Métis - an indigenous people in Canada of mixed indigenous and European ancestry.

From BBC

Mr Ambrose has connected with his biological relatives, and has become a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

From BBC

In particular METIS, the Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph, will give astronomers unrivalled views of the inner regions of planet-forming discs, where planets like Earth form.

From Science Daily

While other Métis people in Manitoba have served in elected office, the province’s history with First Nations people holding elected office only goes back a few decades.

From Seattle Times