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

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.

Won't you please expunge that unfortunate fifteen minutes at the porte-cochere last June, and remember instead the fifteen hours I spent reading the Kallikak Family?

From Dear Enemy by Webster, Jean

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

From Dear Enemy by Webster, Jean