Talk:Caucasian

Third meaning

I have often heard the word used by African Americans as a kind of euphemism when talking about white people.Redddogg 05:24, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Isn't that second existing sense? Nothing euphemistic about it AFAICT.​—msh210℠ (talk) 05:27, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

They use it only for white people, i.e. whose ancestors came from Europe, not for other "Caucasians." And maybe "euphemism" isn't the right word, but it's clear that it's considered more polite and refined than to just say "white." Just like people say "Jewish person" rather than just "Jew." It's also used in police reports the same way, which is what you will see if you check out Google News.Redddogg 05:48, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

My bad. It should be a new meaning as a noun, not an adjective. Redddogg 05:52, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

colloquial meaning

Hello Isn't the meaning of Caucasian referring to white people of Western and Northern European descent more of a colloquial or else slightly outdated term? The term is being frowned upon when used in the sense of referring to Western European-descended people, and even when referring to the blumenbachian definition. So shouldn't the one definition read as follows? (Canada, US) colloquial term for A white person. I say this since this definition does not accurately reflect the proper definition or the Blumenbachian definition of Caucasian, given that the proper definition of Caucasian excludes all Europeans as the Caucasus is in Western Asia, not Western or Northern Europe, and the Blumenbachian definition includes all Europeans, Western Asians, North Africans and some Central Asians and those descended from said peoples. So shouldn't this North American-exclusive definition be considered more of a colloquial use rather than an official Canadian or american use? There are lots of cases of official stuff using colloquial terms as if the colloquial definitions are the real meanings, so there is precedent for this idea. 199.101.61.254 02:14, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

Maybe! Any evidence? Equinox ◑ 03:57, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

I wrote a longer comment, which a browser malfunction eated, but in short - I don't think our sense 3 ("white") is either colloquial or outdated; poking around Google for laws using this term, the first four I see include a 1913 proposed US constitutional amendment and a 2005 US government report; it's also used in recent medical studies (a Google Scholar search finds); if anything, some people seem to think it's more formal / scientific. - -sche (discuss) 06:43, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

Is it specifically American? For me it's something I would expect to hear in a US crime drama when they are describing the body in the morgue. I have never heard anyone in my actual real life say it, but admittedly I live in very white location (and sadly am not allowed in the morgue). Plus in modern Internet times with a bit more awareness of racial issues we are probably dropping those old oddities. Equinox ◑ 15:56, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

Yes. I've only ever heard it on US crime programs. SemperBlotto (talk) 15:59, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

Yes. Sorry, I didn't bother to mention that since our entry already said that ("Canada, US") and the IP didn't seem to be proposing to change that part of the label, and it does indeed seem to be a correct label (Lexico agrees, calling it "North American"). Incidentally, Lexico also calls the other, more detailed racial sense "dated", which it probably is. - -sche (discuss) 17:22, 16 September 2020 (UTC)