of color

English

Alternative forms

• of colour

Etymology

Perhaps compare earlier French de couleur, Spanish de color.

Adjective

of color (not comparable)

1. (chiefly US) Of a race other than white, especially black-skinned. [from 18th c.]
   • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society 2010, p. 54:

     It is to him that we owe the story that Talleyrand outraged the susceptibilities of the Philadelphians by his open admiration for a woman of colour with whom he frequently appeared in public.

Usage notes

Placed immediately after the noun, e.g., a writer of color, students of color. May be perceived as euphemistic.

Derived terms

• BIPOC
• MOC
• POC
• WOC

Translations

of a race other than white (euphemistic)

• Finnish: värillinen (fi)
• French: racisé (fr) m, racisée (fr) f, de couleur (fr),
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: di colore
• Portuguese: de cor (pt)
• Spanish: de color