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

It happened that the ancestor of the Kallikak family, after he had sown his wild oats, married well and had about five hundred descendants.

From Society Its Origin and Development by Rowe, Henry Kalloch

Another family called the Kallikak family, which has been made the subject of investigation, is a still better example of heredity.

From Society Its Origin and Development by Rowe, Henry Kalloch

The record is that of six generations of descendants from an original progenitor to whom the fictitious name of Kallikak has been assigned.

From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.

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

From Dear Enemy by Webster, Jean