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

• mestiza
  noun

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

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

This ethnically mixed population dominated urban areas, often working as shoemakers, tailors, and other types of artisans; some mestizo and pardo men served in the lower ranks of the colonial militias.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

This first wave was socially revolutionary in nature and mobilized the Indigenous and mestizo masses by emphasizing land reform and the abolition of tributary labor.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

The mestizo business owners in town must realize that indigenas are important to our town’s economy.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau