Adjacent Words

Creole definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CREOLE, n. In the West Indies and Spanish America, a native of those countries descended from European ancestors.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 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>

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: 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. Haitian c. not capitalized a language that has evolved from a pidgin but serves as the native language of a speech community

Oxford Reference Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

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

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see creole