Hispanic

[ hi-span-ik ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to Spanish-speaking Latin America: the United States and its Hispanic neighbors.

  1. Also His·pan·o [hi-span-oh, -spah-noh] /hɪˈspæn oʊ, -ˈspɑ noʊ/ . of or relating to people of Spanish-speaking descent: Hispanic students;the Hispanic vote;Hispanic communities.: Compare Latino (def. 1).

noun
  1. Also called His·pan·o-A·mer·i·can [hi-span-oh-uh-mer-i-kuhn, -spah-noh], /hɪˈspæn oʊ əˈmɛr ɪ kən, -ˈspɑ noʊ/, His·pan·ic A·mer·i·can . a citizen or resident of the United States who is of Spanish or Spanish-speaking Latin American descent. : Compare Latino (def. 2).

  2. a person whose primary or native language is Spanish.

Origin of Hispanic

1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin hispānicus, “Spanish”; see Hispania, -ic

usage note For Hispanic

Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are more controversial as singular nouns. This is the case for Hispanic. It’s often acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Hispanics ). However, it may sometimes be less so as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Hispanic ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Hispanic voters to the polls).

Other words from Hispanic

  • His·pan·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non-His·pan·ic, adjective
  • pre-His·pan·ic, adjective
  • trans-His·pan·ic, adjective

Words Nearby Hispanic

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

How to use Hispanic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Hispanic

Hispanic

/ (hɪˈspænɪk) /


adjective
  1. relating to, characteristic of, or derived from Spain or Spanish-speaking countries

noun
  1. US a person of Latin-American or Spanish descent living in the US

usage For Hispanic

his is the word most generally used in the US to refer to people of Latin American or Spanish ancestry

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