Mongoloid

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A term historically used to describe people of East Asian and some Central Asian descent based on outdated racial classification; previously applied to categorize certain ethnic groups; now considered offensive and inappropriate for describing individuals or populations
2. Once a scientific categorization referring to individuals from East Asia and related regions according to anthropological racial groupings; used to label specific populations; currently recognized as a derogatory and obsolete term
3. A formerly employed racial designation for persons of East Asian ancestry and nearby areas within old anthropological frameworks; intended as an ethnic classification; presently viewed as disrespectful and medically incorrect language

Etymology: "Mongoloid" is built from "Mongol" and the suffix "-oid", which comes from Ancient Greek "eidos" ("form, shape, likeness") through the combining form "-eides" ("resembling"). The suffix therefore means "resembling" or "having the form of", so the word literally means "resembling a Mongol." It is an English formation from that base and suffix, not a term that existed in classical Greek. The suffix was attached to "Mongol" in English, and the resulting word was used in 19th-century race science, when European writers sorted humanity into supposed racial groups and gave them names built on Greek and Latin parts. Its use as a label for a race has been abandoned because it rested on a false classification, and the term is now obsolete in that sense.

Synonyms: East Asian, Asian

Antonyms: Caucasoid, European