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Archiver > ROOTS > 2008-12 > 1228971328
From: "Drew Smith" <>
Subject: Re: [ROOTS-L] FW: FW: several mixed presidential heritages
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:55:28 -0500
References: <d3a.3293fdb4.3671927e@aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <d3a.3293fdb4.3671927e@aol.com>
On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 4:45 PM, <> wrote:
> What is a Caucasian? I always thought it was someone from the Caucasus. I'm
> white. I have no ancestors from the Caucasus!
>From the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary:
"of, constituting, or characteristic of a race of humankind native to
Europe, North Africa, and southwest Asia and classified according to
physical features;used especially in referring to persons of European
descent having usually light skin pigmentation"
>From the Oxford English Dictionary:
"Of or belonging to the region of the Caucasus: a name given by
Blumenbach (a1800) to the 'white' race of mankind, which he derived
from the region of the Caucasus."
So the word "Caucasian" has been used to refer to whites for more than
200 years. But I doubt this comes as a surprise to anyone, so I fail
to see the point of the protest.
Drew Smith
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