metis

Meaning

Noun

1. A person of mixed-race ancestry.
2. (Canada, US, alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of Metis (“a member of one of three Canadian Aboriginal peoples; any person of mixed European and Indigenous descent”).
3. (US) A person of one-eighth black ancestry; an octoroon.

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Of mixed heritage
2. (not-comparable) Of Métis heritage.

Synonyms

half-breed

half-caste

Translations

métis

métisse

déné

mesties

mestizo

mestiza

kırma

Mischling

melez

Pronounced as (IPA)

/meɪˈtiː/

Etymology

Borrowed from French métis, from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus (“mixed”). Akin to mestizo, which came from Spanish. More at Metis.