Kallikak

American  

[kal-i-kak] / ˈkæl ɪˌkæk /

noun

1. the fictitious name of an actual family that was the focus of a sociological study: one branch of feeble-minded descendants were mostly social degenerates, while another branch with descendants of normal intelligence were mostly successful.

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Etymology

Origin of Kallikak

< Greek kalli- calli- + kak- ( see caco-)

Example Sentences

Both clans were descendants of Martin Kallikak, a soldier in the Revolution.

From Time Magazine Archive

If you are really hurt, I will read the Kallikak book; but I must tell you that you are working me to death.

From Dear Enemy by Webster, Jean

Kallikak family, results of environment rather than heredity shown by, 249.

From Crime: Its Cause and Treatment by Darrow, Clarence

I have finished the Kallikak family and I am bursting with talk.

From Dear Enemy by Webster, Jean

The studies of the Edwards family on one hand and the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same conclusion.

From How to Teach by Strayer, George Drayton