Métis

¹

[ Canadian mey-tee; mey-tee, -tees ]

noun

, plural Mé·tis [mey, -tee, mey, -teez, mey-, tee, -, teez].

1. Canadian. a person of mixed First Nations and European ancestry: a member of the Métis Nation, recognized constitutionally as one of Canada’s rights-bearing Indigenous peoples.
2. métis, any person of mixed racial ancestry.

adjective

1. Canadian. belonging or relating to the Métis:

   Métis communities developed along the fur trade routes.

2. métis, being of mixed racial ancestry.

Metis

²

[ mee-tis ]

noun

, Classical Mythology.

1. a Titaness, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and the mother of Athena by Zeus. Zeus swallowed Metis, and Athena was born from his head.

Métis

/ mɛˈtiːs; mɛˈtiːs /

noun

1. a person of mixed parentage
2. 1. the offspring or a descendant of a French Canadian and a North American Indian
   2. a member or descendant of a group of such people, who established themselves in Manitoba and Saskatchewan as a distinct political and cultural force during the nineteenth century
3. a person having one eighth Black ancestry; octoroon

Derived Forms

• Métisse, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of Métis¹

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, Middle French, from Late Latin mixtīcius “of mixed blood”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Métis¹

C19: from French, from Vulgar Latin mixtīcius (unattested) of mixed race; compare mestizo

Example Sentences

I had recognised the voice of a Métis, whose good feelings on my behalf were beyond doubt.

From Project Gutenberg

About his waist went a sash of scarlet, such as is worn by the Northwest métis.

From Project Gutenberg