Coloureds

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term historically used to describe people of mixed racial ancestry, particularly in South Africa
2. Referring to individuals who exhibit a combination of ethnic backgrounds, often linked to specific socio-political contexts
3. Denoting a social category encompassing various mixed-race groups, often within former colonial regions

Etymology: "Coloureds" is the plural of "coloured", the adjective from "colour" with the past-participle-style ending "-ed" that marks something as having or being given a particular quality. The noun sense, applied to people, is what the word means here: in South Africa it became an official racial category and a name for people of mixed ancestry, especially under apartheid-era classification. The plural is the form that carries the historical weight. Singular "coloured" as a noun could be used of a person, but the plural became the everyday collective label for an entire group defined by descent, and it is in that group sense that the word has been most loaded. Its meaning as a racial term is a usage that developed in colonial and later South African contexts, rather than anything in the word's basic structure.

Synonyms: people of color, ethnic minorities, non-whites, racial groups, diverse individuals