Asiatic

[ ey-zhee-at-ik, ey-shee-, ey-zee- ]

/ ˌeɪ ʒiˈæt ɪk, ˌeɪ ʃi-, ˌeɪ zi- /

adjective

Asian.

noun Usually Offensive.

an Asian person.

Origin of Asiatic

1625–35; < Latin Asiāticus < Greek Asiātikos. See Asia, -tic

Related forms

A·si·at·i·cal·ly, adverbhalf-A·si·at·ic, adjectivenon-A·si·at·ic, adjective, nounpro-A·si·at·ic, adjective

trans-A·si·at·ic, adjective

Can be confused

Asian Asiatic Oriental (see usage note at Asian)

Usage note

See Asian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for asiatic

They govern in the Asiatic way—by fraud if possible—if not, by force.
Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt|Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Its a sad pity, too, said a young woman; for look how handsome he is with those dark Asiatic eyes!
Darkness and Dawn|Frederic W. Farrar
Every available bit of African or Asiatic territory was claimed by one of the rival powers.
The Story of Mankind|Hendrik Van Loon
The Pharaohs married Asiatic wives, and their courts became gradually Asiatised.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce

The mixed blood of these two essentially Asiatic races has produced a type closely resembling that of European nations.
Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.|Xavier Hommaire de Hell

British Dictionary definitions for asiatic

Asiatic

/ (ˌeɪʃɪˈætɪk, -zɪ-) /

noun, adjective

a word formerly used for Asian

usage

Asiatic is the correct word to use in scientific language when talking about flora, fauna and anthropology, for instance Asiatic lion . Using it as a noun is offensive and old-fashioned

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