octoroon

American  

[ok-tuh-roon] / ˌɒk təˈrun /

noun

Older Use: Offensive.

1. a person having one-eighth Black ancestry, with one Black great-grandparent; the offspring of a quadroon and a white person.

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octoroon British  

/ ˌɒktəˈruːn /

noun

1. a person having one quadroon and one White parent and therefore having one-eighth Black blood Compare quadroon

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Etymology

Origin of octoroon

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; octo- + (quad)roon

Compare meaning

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

• octoroon vs. mulatto

Example Sentences

George doesn’t know at first that Zoe is an octoroon, meaning she’s 1/8th Black, but he refuses to let miscegenation law stand in the way of his heart’s desire.

From Los Angeles Times

An Octoroon is an adaptation with a twist of an obscure 19th-century melodrama about slavery; an octoroon is a person whose ancestry is one-eighth black.

From The Guardian

The racial categories “quadroon” and “octoroon” once appeared on the census form.

From Economist

Americans aren't far enough from the days when absurd categories like "mulatto," "quadroon" and "octoroon" had the power to determine people's lives.

From Salon

The term “octoroon” is thankfully not in circulation anymore, and it is likely that the melodrama would have remained in history’s dustbin were it not for Jacobs-Jenkins’ ambivalent curiosity.

From Los Angeles Times