Caucasian
adjective
Note: People of North African and southwest Asian ancestry were historically also sometimes considered to be of the Caucasian race.
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Caucasian vs. White
Caucasian has two fairly distinct meanings, and the difference between them occasionally leads people to aver that one of them is incorrect. The earliest sense of the word is a literal one: “of or relating to the Caucasus (a region in southeastern Europe between the Black and Caspian seas) or its inhabitants.” The second refers to the racial group commonly referred to as white.
The objection to using Caucasian to refer to a white person is that many whites do not actually come from the Caucasus region. Be this as it may, there is no rule in language stipulating that the formation of a word must be based on logic; were this the case we would not call members of this racial group either Caucasian or white, since there are very few whose skin color is in fact that exact shade.
Examples of Caucasian in a Sentence
Ime Ekpo, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
But the new membership is more diverse, with 51% men and 39% women; and 36% white or Caucasian, 26% Black or African-American, 14% Hispanic or Latin and 11% Asian or Pacific Islander.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
The study also found certain preexisting conditions, such as older age and Caucasian race seemed to increase the risk for the outcome even more.
—Tribune Content Agency, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
This was complicated by a general western unwillingness to reciprocate, resulting in the small Caucasian country being caught with no major allies when Azerbaijan made its move in 2020.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for Caucasian 
Dictionary Entries Near Caucasian
Cite this Entry
“Caucasian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Caucasian. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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Caucasian
adjective
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Caucasian
adjective
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