mestizo

/mɛsˈtisoʊ/

/mɛsˈtizəʊ/

Other forms: mestizos; mestizoes

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.

Definitions of mestizo

1. noun

   a person of mixed racial ancestry (especially mixed European and Native American ancestry)
   synonyms: ladino

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being