hyphenism

plural hyphenisms

1. countableuncountableThe use of hyphenated terms to describe people's identities, e.g. in Irish-American.

   What may be called, for want of a better term, the colonial spirit, which is the essence of hyphenism, has persisted in this country to hamper national progress and national unity.

   1924, Edward F. McSweeney, The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America, page 2