mestizo

American  

[me-stee-zoh, mi-] / mɛˈsti zoʊ, mɪ- /

noun

mestizos, plural mestizoes plural

1. a person of mixed racial or ethnic ancestry, especially, in Latin America, of mixed Indigenous and European descent or, in the Philippines, of mixed Indigenous and foreign descent.

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mestizo British  

/ mɛˈstiːzə, mɛˈstiːzəʊ, mɪ- /

noun

1. a person of mixed parentage, esp the offspring of a Spanish American and an American Indian

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mestiza
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mestizoes
  plural
• mestizos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mestizo

First recorded in 1580–90; from Spanish, noun use of adjective mestizo, from Vulgar Latin mixtīcius (unrecorded) “mixed”

Compare meaning

How does mestizo compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mestizo vs. mulatto

Explanation

In Latin America, someone with both indigenous and European ancestry is described as mestizo. In Mexico, the majority of people are mestizos. Mestizo, a Spanish word that's rooted in the Latin mixtus, or "mixed," originally meant "person of mixed Spanish and Amerindian parentage." Though some groups of Latin Americans still employ this word to describe their own combined heritage, it's becoming less common for people with mixed ancestry to use the term. Approximately one third of people identifying as Hispanic in the U.S. also describe themselves as mestizo.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mestizo mestizoes mestizos

One night Toño is electrified by the playing of a self-taught mestizo guitarist named Lalo Molfino.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

He was the son of a Spanish captain and a palla — a member of Incan royalty — making him mestizo.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

An economic recession that occurred at the same time led to high unemployment among mestizo silver miners.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

In March 1814, Francia, who was an advocate for the common man, passed a law requiring racial intermarriage; White Europeans could marry only people of African, Indigenous, or mestizo ancestry.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

A short, round mestizo man and a pretty indigena woman are waiting for me on the blue velvet chairs in the lobby.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

In the meantime, the young mestizoes were discoursing with him in the brilliant saloons of the Jew, and the crowd of guests thronged around André Certa, who proudly displayed the splendors of his toilet.

From The Pearl of Lima A Story of True Love by Wilbur, Anne T.

This unknown peril escaped the eyes of the Spaniards, too lofty to perceive it, and the attention of the mestizoes, who never wished to look beneath them.

From The Pearl of Lima A Story of True Love by Wilbur, Anne T.

After passing through some low scrubby forest, very thick with tangled second growth, the clearings of the mestizoes were reached, about five miles below Santo Domingo.

From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Belt, Thomas

She ascended them toward the bridge: numbers of soldiers, mestizoes, and Indians, were stationed at various points on the shore.

From The Pearl of Lima A Story of True Love by Wilbur, Anne T.

In all of the frontier settlements there was a large element of mulattoes and mestizoes.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene

The Hoja Blanca station is also responsible for six other communities, made up of mestizos, Indigenous Chachis, and Afro-Ecuadorians — about 3,000 people in total.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2022

The Hoja Blanca station is also responsible for six other communities, made up of mestizos, Indigenous Chachis, and Afro-Ecuadorians—about 3,000 people in total.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 10, 2022

Indigenous Mexicans, about 10% of the population, are much more likely to live in poverty than mixed-race mestizos, who comprise the majority of Mexico’s population.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2020

Many in the country long to open up sufficient democratic space so that the country's diverse populations, including Indigenous, Afro-Colombians, mestizos, peasants, laborers, and others can participate without being killed, threatened or marginalized.

From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2016

Outside the church, I’m adrift in a sea of anacos and gold beads and blue ponchos; only a few other people are dressed like mestizos.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau