We are living in a day when it is important to understand the definitions of two words, and they are “Mestizo” and “Ladino”. I don’t mean a quick once-over scan, but an in-depth study and research inspecting every minute detail. Once we make a comprehensive survey of the topic, it will lead us to consider other related terms of urgent concern. I will now show the meanings of these two words from five different dictionaries, starting with Mestizo:
Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary:
“mes•tee (mes•tē´) n. A mustee. [<Sp. mestizo hybrid]”
“mes•ti•zo (mes•tē´zo) n. pl. •zos or •zoes. Any one of mixed blood; in Mexico and the western United States, a person of Spanish and Indian blood: also called Ladino (def. 2). Also mes•te´so, mes•ti´no (-nō). [<Sp. <LL misticius <L mixtus, pp. Of miscere to mix]. — mes•ti´za (-zə) n. fem.”
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary:
“mes•ti•za (me stē´zə, mi-), n. a woman of racially mixed ancestry, esp., in Latin America, of mixed American Indian and European ancestry or, in the Philippines, of mixed native and foreign ancestry. [< Sp]”
“mes•ti•zo (me stē´zō, mi-), n., pl. -zos, zoes. a person of racially mixed ancestry, esp., in Latin America, of mixed American Indian and European, usually Spanish or Portuguese, ancestry, or, in the Philippines, of mixed native and foreign ancestry. [1580-90; <Sp, n. use of adj. mestizo <VL *mixticius mixed]”