Etymology

mameluco

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Today it means: A child born of one white parent and one Brazilian Indian parent. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Brazilian Portuguese mameluco ← Arabic مَمْلُوك
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromمَمْلُوك“slave”
  2. Brazilian Portuguese · borrowed frommameluco
  3. English todaymameluco

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese mameluco, from Arabic مَمْلُوك (mamlūk, “slave”). Doublet of mameluke.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A child born of one white parent and one Brazilian Indian parent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.