mulatto

noun

mu·​lat·​to mə-ˈlä-(ˌ)tō 

mu̇-, 

myu̇-, 

-ˈla- 

plural mulattoes or mulattos

1

usually offensive : the first-generation offspring of a Black person and a white person

2

usually offensive : a person of mixed white and Black ancestry

Examples of mulatto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Saar equipped an Aunt Jemima Black mammy figurine with a rifle alongside her broom, and placed a derogatory postcard in front of it featuring another Black mammy with a mulatto child. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2026

Even earlier, Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica (1774) had claimed that mulattos were actually sterile—the ultimate proof that whites and Blacks were separate species. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 6 Apr. 2026

Noah is a mulatto, his grandmother a slave of part Cherokee blood and his grandfather an Irish sheriff. — Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish mulato, from mulo mule, from Latin mulus

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1