creole

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a natural language that developed in a contact community from elements of two or more languages and became a community's first language

   Haitian Creole is spoken by millions of people in Haiti and abroad.

2. 2
   adj

   relating to a creole language or expressed in one

   The researchers compared several creole varieties spoken around the Caribbean.

3. 3
   noun

   historical or regional: a person born in a colony, especially a descendant of European settlers, or a member of a locally developed mixed culture; the exact meaning varies by place

   Colonial records distinguished Spanish-born officials from Creoles born in the Americas.

4. 4
   adj

   relating to a Creole people or culture, especially the mixed cultural traditions associated with Louisiana and the Caribbean

   The restaurant is known for its Creole gumbo and red beans.

Through French creole and Spanish criollo from Portuguese crioulo, probably related to cria, 'a person raised in a household,' and criar, 'to rear,' from Latin creare, 'create.' It first distinguished people born and raised in a colony from those born overseas; its meanings then diversified by region and extended to local cultures and contact languages.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images