Mongoloid
/ˈmɒŋ.ɡə.lɔɪd/noun
A dated and offensive racial classification once used for people of East Asian and related ancestry.
Did you know?Mongoloid was coined in the 19th century as part of pseudoscientific racial typologies that have since been rejected, showing how language can be weaponized to turn prejudice into “science.”
Etymological Timeline
13th Century
Middle English
Mongol
“A member of the Mongol people of Central Asia and the empire founded by Genghis Khan.”
1830s
French
mongol
“A racial label used in anthropological classification for East Asian peoples.”
1850s
English
mongoloid
“A taxonomic racial term formed with -oid, meaning 'resembling a Mongol.'”
Late 19th Century
English
mongoloid
“Used in outdated racial anthropology and medicine as a supposed human “race” category.”
Modern English
English
mongoloid
“An offensive, obsolete term no longer used in respectful or scientific contexts.”
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