miscegenation

[ mi-sej-uh-ney-shuhn, mis-i-juh- ]
See synonyms for miscegenation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups, especially, in the U.S., between a Black person and a white person: In 1967 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws prohibiting miscegenation were unconstitutional.

  2. sexual relations between two people from different racial backgrounds resulting in the conception of a mixed-race child.

Origin of miscegenation

1
Irregular formation from Latin miscē(re) “to mix” + Latin gen(us) “race, stock, species” + English -ation noun suffix; allegedly coined by U.S. journalist David Goodman Croly (1829–89) in a pamphlet published anonymously in 1864; see -ation

Other words from miscegenation

  • mis·ce·ge·net·ic [mis-i-juh-net-ik, mi-sej-uh-], /ˌmɪs ɪ dʒəˈnɛt ɪk, mɪˌsɛdʒ ə-/, adjective
  • an·ti·mis·ce·ge·na·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use miscegenation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for miscegenation

miscegenation

/ (ˌmɪsɪdʒɪˈneɪʃən) /


noun
  1. interbreeding of races, esp where differences of pigmentation are involved

Origin of miscegenation

1
C19: from Latin miscēre to mingle + genus race

Derived forms of miscegenation

  • miscegenetic (ˌmɪsɪdʒɪˈnɛtɪk), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012