miscegenation
[mi-sej-uh-ney-shuh n, mis-i-juh-]
- marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups, especially, in the U.S., between a black person and a white person: In 1968 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws prohibiting miscegenation were unconstitutional.
- sexual relations between two people from different racial backgrounds that results in the conception of a mixed-race child.
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Origin of miscegenation
irregular < Latin miscē(re) to mix + gen(us) race, stock, species + -ation; allegedly coined by U.S. journalist David Goodman Croly (1829–89) in a pamphlet published anonymously in 1864
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for anti-miscegenation
Contemporary Examples
In both intent and application, the anti-miscegenation laws were about race, not marriage.
But strict British anti-miscegenation laws limited their opportunities for finding a spouse.
miscegenation
- interbreeding of races, esp where differences of pigmentation are involved
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Word Origin
C19: from Latin miscēre to mingle + genus race
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for anti-miscegenation
miscegenation
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
miscegenation
(mĭ-sĕj′ə-nā′shən, mĭs′ĭ-jə-)- Marriage or sexual relations between individuals of different races.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.