Somaloid
/ˈsɒm.ə.lɔɪd/noun
An obsolete anthropological term meaning resembling or relating to Somali people or populations.
Did you know?Somaloid belongs to the now-discredited vocabulary of racial anthropology, while its ending, “-oid,” comes from Greek eidos, meaning “form” or “appearance.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
εἶδος (eidos)
“Form, shape, appearance, or kind; the source of the scientific suffix -oid.”
Ancient Greek to Latin
Greek/Latin
-οειδής (-oeidēs) / -oides
“Resembling in form or appearance; a productive descriptive ending.”
19th Century
English
-oid
“A suffix meaning “resembling” or “having the form of,” increasingly used in scientific terminology.”
19th–20th Century
Somali/English
Somali + -oid
“A modern English formation meaning “Somali-like” or associated with Somali populations.”
Modern English
English
somaloid
“An obsolete and potentially offensive anthropological label, no longer accepted as a valid racial classification.”