noun
- Plural of mestizo; people of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry.
Usage: Primarily historical and anthropological usage; Common in Latin American contexts; The term reflects colonial-era racial classification systems
Examples
- The mestizoes of colonial Mexico formed a distinct social class between Spanish colonizers and Indigenous peoples.
- Many mestizoes in Latin America today identify with both European and Indigenous heritage.
- Historical records documented the growing population of mestizoes throughout the 18th century.
- The mestizoes played important roles in the cultural development of their regions.