Caucasian

[kaw-key-zhuhn, -shuhn, -kazh-uhn, -kash-]

adjective

1. Anthropology.,  (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe, parts of North Africa, western Asia, and India.

2. white.

   a brown-haired Caucasian female with a tattoo on her left shoulder.

3. of or relating to the Caucasus mountain range.

4. Linguistics.,  of or related to the non-Indo-European, non-Turkic languages of the Caucasus region.

noun

1. Anthropology.,  (no longer in technical use) a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Caucasian race, especially those peoples having light to fair skin.

2. a white person.

   The chef at this awesome new Indian restaurant is actually a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian from Montana.

3. a native of Caucasia.

Caucasian

/ -ʒən, kɔːˈkeɪzɪən, kɔːˈkeɪzɪk /

adjective

1. old-fashioned,  another word for Caucasoid

2. of or relating to the Caucasus

noun

1. a White person; a Caucasoid

2. a native or inhabitant of Caucasia

3. any of three possibly related families of languages spoken in the Caucasus: North-West Caucasian, including Circassian and Abkhaz, North-East Caucasian , including Avar, and South Caucasian including Georgian

Usage

The word Caucasian is very widely used in the US to refer to people of European origin or people who are White, even though the original classification was broader than this

Other Word Forms

• non-Caucasian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Caucasian¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin Caucas(eus), Caucas(ius), derivative of Caucasus, from Greek Kaúkasos; + -ian adjective suffix; Caucasus, -ian

Example Sentences

It wasn’t because we were choosing to date Caucasian people.

From Los Angeles Times

Rodriguez disputed law enforcement’s recounting of the incident, telling TMZ in March that he was sleeping in the passenger seat when a “Caucasian” officer on a “power trip” slapped him to wake him up.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Archerd's preference was for a married Caucasian, Christian couple living in the US, as she didn't want to "go out of the country", she told MIT Technology Review.

From BBC

"There's a level of fear and I think for Caucasians, there's a level of safety. That is the disparity," she said.

From BBC

County communities were developed, prohibiting homes from being sold to anyone “other than the white or Caucasian race.”

From Los Angeles Times