la raza
Americannoun
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(used with a plural verb) the people of Mexico or Mexican Americans, collectively.
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(used with a singular verb) Mexican or Mexican American culture.
Etymology
Origin of la raza
First recorded in 1920–25; literally, “the race,” shortening of La raza cósmica “The Cosmic Race,” a 1925 essay by José Vasconcelos Calderón (1882–1959), Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician, in which Vasconcelos Calderón claims that a future worldwide community will develop from the mixture of all the racial and ethnic groups of the world, which he believed had begun in Latin America; from Spanish la, the feminine singular definite article + raza race 2 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Where’s the banda? Those are the things we need so that la raza can enjoy themselves.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
He’s willing to sacrifice the neighborhood and his dignity among la raza if it means helping his family.
From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2020
They wondered if I would belt out a collective scream on behalf of la raza or grill him, a la “Frost/Nixon.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2019
Eradicate machismo from latino culture and la raza will flourish as never before; mujeres and hombres alike will then move forward in equality.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
