miscegenation
[mi-sej-uh-ney-shuh n, mis-i-juh-]
- marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups, especially, in the U.S., between a black person and a white person: In 1968 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws prohibiting miscegenation were unconstitutional.
- sexual relations between two people from different racial backgrounds that results in the conception of a mixed-race child.
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Origin of miscegenation
irregular < Latin miscē(re) to mix + gen(us) race, stock, species + -ation; allegedly coined by U.S. journalist David Goodman Croly (1829–89) in a pamphlet published anonymously in 1864
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
combinationamalgambastardcrosscompoundhalf-breedmongrelmiscegenationhalf-castecrossbreedmuleintermarriagehalf-bloodincrossoutcrossExamples from the Web for miscegenation
Contemporary Examples
Yes, he does say something about American society, which so frowned on miscegenation in the 1870s.
The Miscegenation Ball was an exception in its otherwise bland, though proficient, catalog.
Miscegenation would follow and a mongrel race would be the result.
The major theme defining our new American century is miscegenation.
Historical Examples
The next point was, to get the miscegenation controversy into Congress.
The Humbugs of the WorldP. T. Barnum
Once the political barriers are down, miscegenation will finish the job.
This Crowded EarthRobert Bloch
The only case where it is often invoked in the human race is in miscegenation.
Applied EugenicsPaul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson
Nature, though eager for cross-fertilisation, abhors 'miscegenation' with all the bitterness of an American politician.
The Evolutionist at LargeGrant Allen
The inflow of white blood was small, and much of what did come lost itself in the dismal swamp of miscegenation.
The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-SupremacyTheodore Lothrop Stoddard
miscegenation
- interbreeding of races, esp where differences of pigmentation are involved
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Word Origin
C19: from Latin miscēre to mingle + genus race
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for miscegenation
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
miscegenation
(mĭ-sĕj′ə-nā′shən, mĭs′ĭ-jə-)- Marriage or sexual relations between individuals of different races.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.