Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Creole
Cre′ole
(kr?′?l)
, Noun.
[F.
cr[GREEK]ole
, Sp. criollo
, from an American negro word, perh. a corruption of a Sp. criadillo
, dim. of criado
servant, formerly also, child, fr. L. creatus
, p. p. of creare
to create. Cf. Create
.] One born of European parents in the American colonies of France or Spain or in the States which were once such colonies, esp. a person of French or Spanish descent, who is a native inhabitant of Louisiana, or one of the States adjoining, bordering on the Gulf of of Mexico.
☞ “The term creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood.”
R. Hildreth.
☞ “The title [Creole] did not first belong to the descendants of Spanish, but of French, settlers, But such a meaning implied a certain excellence of origin, and so came early to include any native of French or Spanish descent by either parent, whose nonalliance with the slave race entitled him to social rank. Later, the term was adopted by, not conceded to, the natives of mixed blood, and is still so used among themselves. . . . Besides French and Spanish, there are even, for convenience of speech, ’colored' Creoles; but there are no Italian, or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch, Irish, or 'Yankee' Creoles, unless of parentage married into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in, Creole society.”
G. W. Cable.
Cre′ole
(kr?′?l)
, Adj.
Of or pertaining to a Creole or the Creoles.
☞ In New Orleans the word Creole is applied to any product, or variety of manufacture, peculiar to Louisiana; as, Creole ponies, chickens, cows, shoes, eggs, wagons, baskets, etc.
Webster 1828 Edition
Creole
CREOLE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
Créole
Créole
French
Noun
Créole m, f (plural Créoles)
- Creole:
- A descendant of white European settlers who is born in a colonized country. [from 17th c.]
- Anyone with mixed ancestry born in a country colonized by white Europeans, now especially one who speaks a creole language. [from 18th c.]
- Someone of black African descent who is born in the Caribbean or Americas (originally as opposed to an African immigrant). [from 18th c.]