CAUCASIAN


Meaning of CAUCASIAN in English

[ kɔ:'keɪzɪən , -ʒ(ə)n ]

■ adjective

1》 relating to or denoting a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, western Asia, and parts of India and North Africa.

↘white-skinned; of European origin.

2》 relating to the region of the Caucasus in SE Europe.

■ noun a ~ person.

Usage

~ (or Caucasoid ) belonged to a set of terms introduced by 19th-century anthropologists attempting to categorize human races. Although such classification is now outdated and potentially offensive, the term ~ has acquired a more restricted meaning, especially in the US, as a synonym for ‘white or of European origin’, as in the police are looking for a ~ male in his forties .

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.