Caucasians: meaning, definitions and examples
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Caucasians
[ kɔːˈkeɪʒən ]
ethnic group
Caucasians refer to a racial classification used to categorize people of European, Middle Eastern, and some North African descent. This term can often be associated with a set of shared physical characteristics, but it is also a complex socio-political concept that varies across different societies.
Synonyms
Anglo-Saxons, Caucasoid, Europeans, whites
Examples of usage
- Caucasians are often categorized based on physical traits.
- The term Caucasians includes a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds.
- Caucasians make up a large portion of the population in Europe.
Etymology
The term 'Caucasian' originates from the late 18th century when German philosopher Christoph Meiners first used it to describe the people from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. He believed that people from the Caucasus region of Europe had a set of physical characteristics that distinguished them from other racial groups. The term became more popularized after it was adopted by the American anthropologist Samuel Morton and later by others in the field of racial studies. The 19th-century racial classifications expanded on Meiners' ideas and associated the term with the concept of a 'white race.' However, modern genetics and anthropology have shown that race is more a social construct than a strictly biological category. The use of the term has evolved over the years, leading to its current understanding, which reflects diverse ethnic identities rather than a fixed racial characteristic.