Creole
adj 1: of or relating to a language that arises from contact
between two other languages and has features of both;
"Creole grammars"
2: of or relating to or characteristic of native-born persons of
French descent in Louisiana; "Creole cooking"
n 1: a person of European descent born in the West Indies or
Latin America
2: a person descended from French ancestors in southern United
States (especially Louisiana)
3: a mother tongue that originates from contact between two
languages
creole adjectiveDate: 1737 1.often capitalized of or relating to
Creoles or their language 2.often capitalized relating to
or being highly seasoned food typically prepared with rice, okra, tomatoes,
and peppers <shrimp creole>
Creole nounEtymology: French créole, from Spanish criollo, from
Portuguese crioulo white person born in the colonies Date:
1737 1. a person of European descent born especially in the West
Indies or Spanish America 2. a white person descended from early
French or Spanish settlers of the United States Gulf states and preserving
their speech and culture 3. a person of mixed French or Spanish
and black descent speaking a dialect of French or Spanish 4.a. a language evolved from pidginized French that is spoken by blacks
in southern Louisiana b.Haitianc.not capitalized
a language that has evolved from a pidgin but serves as the native language
of a speech community
creole n. & adj. --n. 1 a a descendant of European (esp. Spanish) settlers in the W. Indies or Central or S. America. b a White descendant of French settlers in the southern US. c a person
of mixed European and Black descent. 2 a language formed from the contact of a European language (esp. English, French, or Portuguese) with another (esp. African) language. --adj. 1 of or
relating to a Creole or Creoles. 2 (usu. creole) of Creole origin or production (creole cooking). Etymology: F créole, criole f. Sp. criollo, prob. f. Port. crioulo home-born
slave f. criar breed f. L creare CREATE
Creole n. & adj. --n. 1 a a descendant of European (esp. Spanish) settlers in the W. Indies or Central or S. America. b a White descendant of French settlers in the southern US. c a person
of mixed European and Black descent. 2 a language formed from the contact of a European language (esp. English, French, or Portuguese) with another (esp. African) language. --adj. 1 of or
relating to a Creole or Creoles. 2 (usu. creole) of Creole origin or production (creole cooking). Etymology: F créole, criole f. Sp. criollo, prob. f. Port. crioulo home-born
slave f. criar breed f. L creare CREATE
creole
also Creole(creoles)
1. A creole is a language that has developed from a mixture of different languages and
has become the main language in a particular place.
She begins speaking in the Creole of Haiti....French Creole.= patois
N-VAR
2. A Creole is a person of mixed African and European race, who lives in the West Indies
and speaks a creole language.
N-COUNT
3. A Creole is a person descended from the Europeans who first settled in the West
Indies or the southern United States of America.
N-COUNT
4. Creole means belonging to or relating to the Creole community.
Coconut Rice Balls is a Creole dish.ADJ: usu ADJ n
Creole
ˈkri:əul n. & adj. --n. 1 a a descendant of European
(esp. Spanish) settlers in the W. Indies or Central or S. America. b a
White descendant of French settlers in the southern US. c a person of
mixed European and Black descent. 2 a language formed from the contact
of a European language (esp. English, French, or Portuguese) with another
(esp. African) language. --adj. 1 of or relating to a Creole or Creoles. 2
(usu. creole) of Creole origin or production (creole cooking). [F cr÷ole,
criole f. Sp. criollo, prob. f. Port. crioulo home-born slave f. criar breed
f. L creare CREATE]
Creole \Cre"ole\ (kr?"?l), n. [F. cr?ole, Sp. criollo, from an
American negro word, perh. a corruption of a Sp. criadillo,
dim. of criado servant, formerly also, child, fr. L. creatus,
p. p. of creare to create. Cf. Create.]
One born of European parents in the American colonies of
France or Spain or in the States which were once such
colonies, esp. a person of French or Spanish descent, who is
a native inhabitant of Louisiana, or one of the States
adjoining, bordering on the Gulf of of Mexico.
Note: ``The term creole negro is employed in the English West
Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the
Africans imported during the time of the slave trade.
The application of this term to the colored people has
led to an idea common in some parts of the United
States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an
admixture greater or less of African blood.'' --R.
Hildreth.
Note: ``The title [Creole] did not first belong to the
descendants of Spanish, but of French, settlers, But
such a meaning implied a certain excellence of origin,
and so came early to include any native of French or
Spanish descent by either parent, whose nonalliance
with the slave race entitled him to social rank. Later,
the term was adopted by, not conceded to, the natives
of mixed blood, and is still so used among themselves.
. . . Besides French and Spanish, there are even, for
convenience of speech, 'colored' Creoles; but there are
no Italian, or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch,
Irish, or 'Yankee' Creoles, unless of parentage married
into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in, Creole
society.'' --G. W. Cable.
Creole \Cre"ole\ (kr?"?l), a.
Of or pertaining to a Creole or the Creoles.
Note: In New Orleans the word Creole is applied to any
product, or variety of manufacture, peculiar to
Louisiana; as, Creole ponies, chickens, cows, shoes,
eggs, wagons, baskets, etc.
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