Mulatto
/mjuˈlæt.oʊ/noun
An outdated and offensive term for a person of mixed Black and white ancestry.
Did you know?The term is generally traced to Spanish and Portuguese mulato, often linked to mulo/mula meaning “mule,” making its history inseparable from animalizing racial ideology.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Spanish/Portuguese
mulato
“A racial label used in colonial caste systems for a person of mixed ancestry, especially Black and white.”
16th Century
Iberian Romance
mula
“A mule, the sterile hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey.”
Latin
Latin
mulus
“A mule.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mélh₂-
“A root associated with grinding or milling; the deeper prehistory of the animal word is uncertain and debated.”
Modern English
English
mulatto
“An outdated and offensive racial term formerly used in English.”