mulatto

American  

[muh-lat-oh, -lah-toh, myoo-] / məˈlæt oʊ, -ˈlɑ toʊ, myu- /

noun

plural

mulattoes, mulattos

1. Anthropology. (not in technical use) the offspring of one white parent and one Black parent.

2. Older Use: Offensive. a person who has both Black and white ancestors.

---

adjective

1. of a light-brown color.

mulatto British  

/ mjuːˈlætəʊ /

noun

1. a person having one Black and one White parent

---

adjective

1. of a light brown colour

Etymology

Origin of mulatto

First recorded in 1585–95; from Spanish mulato “young mule,” equivalent to mul(o) mule ¹ + -ato of unclear origin

Compare meaning

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

• mestizo vs. mulatto
• octoroon vs. mulatto

Example Sentences

Another explanation lies in the easy tendency to lump the story in with the "tragic mulatto" trope, a crude designation defined by works like Fannie Hurst's "Imitation of Life."

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2021

A white doctor falls in love with a mulatto woman who has returned to Boston to raise money for a Southern school.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2019

One tamale looks volcanic, the masa haunted by a rust-red ombre of mole poblano, a meld of raisins, almonds, plantains, chocolate, cinnamon, sesame seeds and mulatto, pasilla and ancho chiles, gradations of sweetness and heat.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2016

A mulatto is a person of African and white ancestry.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2016

The only one who accepted was Aureliano Triste, a big mulatto with the drive and explorer’s spirit of his grandfather.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez