Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A person of European descent born in the West Indies or Spanish America.
- n. A person descended from or culturally related to the original French settlers of the southern United States, especially Louisiana.
- n. The French dialect spoken by these people.
- n. A person descended from or culturally related to the Spanish and Portuguese settlers of the Gulf States.
- n. A person of mixed Black and European ancestry who speaks a creolized language, especially one based on French or Spanish.
- n. A Black slave born in the Americas as opposed to one brought from Africa.
- n. A creolized language.
- n. Haitian Creole.
- adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Creoles.
- adj. Cooked with a spicy sauce containing tomatoes, onions, and peppers: shrimp creole; creole cuisine.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In the West Indies and Spanish America: Originally, a native descended from European (properly Spanish) ancestors, as distinguished from immigrants of European blood, and from the aborigines, negroes, and natives of mixed (Indian and European, or European and negro) blood.
- n. Loosely, a person born in the country, but of a race not indigenous to it, irrespective of color.
- n. In Louisiana: Originally, a native descended from French ancestors who had settled there; later, any native of French or Spanish descent by either parent; a person belonging to the French-speaking native portion of the white race.
- n. A native-born negro, as distinguished from a negro brought from Africa.
- Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a creole or the creoles: as, creole songs; creole dialects.
- Of immediate West Indian growth, but of ultimate European or other foreign origin: as, creole chickens; creole roses.
- n. In ichthyology, the genizara, Clepticus parræ, found in the West Indies.
Wiktionary
- n. A member of a French- Native Indian-African Spanish ethnic group in Louisiana.
- n. A French-African ethnic group in Louisiana.
- n. Used as a proper noun denoting any specific creole language, especially that of Haiti.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. 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.
- adj. Of or pertaining to a Creole or the Creoles.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of or relating to or characteristic of native-born persons of French descent in Louisiana
- n. a mother tongue that originates from contact between two languages
- n. a person of European descent born in the West Indies or Latin America
- n. a person descended from French ancestors in southern United States (especially Louisiana)
- adj. of or relating to a language that arises from contact between two other languages and has features of both
Etymologies
- An adaptation of the Castilian Spanish criollo ("homey, local yokel"), from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria ("person raised in one’s house, servant"), from Portuguese criar ("to rear, to bring up"), from Latin creo ("to create"), which came into English via French between 1595 and 1605. (Wiktionary)
- French créole, from Spanish criollo, person native to a locality, from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria, person raised in the house, especially a servant, from criar, to bring up, from Latin creāre, to beget; see ker-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“That's All Right Deutschland 09.1958 KING CREOLE EPA-4319 King Creole - New Orleans - As Long As I Have You - Lover Doll US 08.1958/D 10.1958 US POP EP Charts 1 KING CREOLE VOL. 2”
“The people in the other room were all light-skinned people of color, often called Creoles, although originally the term Creole had denoted a person of French or Spanish ancestry who had been born in the New World.”
“I guess that's how I got the nickname 'Creole Beethoven'—not because I'm so brainy; it's just that everything I did was so loud.”
The Wall Street Journal: A 'Creole Beethoven' Who Stirred Spice Into Songs
“And here let me explain the term Creole, which has led to so many ludicrous, and sometimes to painful mistakes.”
“The term Creole originally denoted descendants of the French and Spanish settlers in Louisiana as well as slaves born in the New World.”
“W.B. Stevenson.] [Footnote 26: The term Creole is a corruption of the Spanish word”
“This program, whose title in Creole translates to "Information We Need to Know," ensures a two-way communication between those providing the aid and those receiving it.”
“The crowd about loses it when I reply in Creole, "Oh, thanks, but I'm not really dirty right now.”
“And it's interesting because in Creole, (foreign language spoken), the other side of the water, means both death and immigration.”
“A blind composer, Wardell is known as the Creole Beethoven having done arrangements for "Iko Iko" and "Mr. Big Stuff.”
The Huffington Post: Karen Dalton-Beninato: Treme Unlucky 13: On Your Way Down
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Creole’.
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MUSIC - jazz
Afro, habanera, pentatonic scale, bop, bebop, jazz, cool jazz, pentatonic, malignment, music genre, jazz musician, syncopate and 437 more...
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MUSIC - ALL TERMS
With focus on non-classical styles, but not excluding terms of the latter.
banjo, accompaniment, acoustic bass, bass guitar, bass clef, ground, brass, cornet, Mute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, arrangement and 866 more...
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Disturbing definitions from the Centu...
Although the Century Dictionary has some exquisite definitions which exhibit attention to scientific detail and respect for terms, ideas, and technology that might otherwise be forgotten, this wind...
cockshy, homosexuality, niggard, sodomy, Creole, promiscuity, savage, ass, hamfatter, ill-gendered, madras, hydrencephalocele and 22 more...
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GCI
spinster, maiden, happy-go-lucky, homonym, ill-at-ease, saw red, out of sorts, hot under the collar, taken aback, pen-names, alias, shoelaces and 378 more...
Tweets
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