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Hispanic

American  
[hi-span-ik] / hɪˈspæn ɪk /

adjective

  1. Spanish.

  2. of or relating to Spanish-speaking Latin America.

    the United States and its Hispanic neighbors.

  3. Also Hispano of or relating to people of Spanish-speaking descent: the Hispanic vote;

    Hispanic students;

    the Hispanic vote;

    Hispanic communities.


noun

  1. Also called Hispano-American.  Also called Hispanic American.  a citizen or resident of the United States who is of Spanish or Spanish-speaking Latin American descent.

  2. a person whose primary or native language is Spanish.

Hispanic British  
/ hɪˈspænɪk /

adjective

  1. relating to, characteristic of, or derived from Spain or Spanish-speaking countries

"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

noun

  1. a person of Latin-American or Spanish descent living in the US

"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

Usage

Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are more controversial as singular nouns. This is the case for Hispanic. It’s often acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Hispanics ). However, it may sometimes be less so as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Hispanic ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Hispanic voters to the polls).

his is the word most generally used in the US to refer to people of Latin American or Spanish ancestry

Other Word Forms

  • Hispanically adverb
  • non-Hispanic adjective
  • pre-Hispanic adjective
  • trans-Hispanic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Hispanic

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin hispānicus, “Spanish”; Hispania, -ic

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.

“The U.S. consumer continued to face ongoing socioeconomic headwinds during the quarter, and we saw continued pronounced weakness amongst the Hispanic consumer cohort specifically,” company executives said in prepared remarks.

From MarketWatch

For Constellation Brands, a rebound will depend on the spending power of Hispanic consumers.

From Barron's

For Constellation Brands, a rebound will depend on the spending power of Hispanic consumers.

From Barron's

For Constellation Brands, a rebound will depend on the spending power of Hispanic consumers.

From Barron's

For Constellation Brands, a rebound will depend on the spending power of Hispanic consumers.

From Barron's