Meanings
paleface1
plural palefaces · alternative Paleface · alternative pale face · alternative pale-face
- derogatoryethnicoffensiveslurA white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.
Some Blackfeet Indians, with a taste and a respect for Nature that shames the paleface, have protested to the Secretary of the Interior[…]
1916 March 11, “Silly Place-Names”, in Saturday Evening Post5 more examples
Dere is Great Wicked Spirit, too... Heart grow hard. Great pleasure was to kill pale-face. Dat feeling last, Blossom, till I see you. Feel like fader to you, and don't want your scalp... Still want all udder pale-face scalp. Want Bourdon scalp much as any.
1848, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter XXVIII, in The Bee-Hunter, or, The Oak OpeningsThe hearts of the palefaces would not thrill to these superstitions of the red men, though we spoke of them in the centre of the haunted region.
1889, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Sketches from Memory”, in The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White MountainsThe dusky hunters "guyed" the palefaces who could not do as well as they with their primitive weapons, even though the fire spouted from the iron tubes and the balls that could not be seen by the eye carried death farther than did the missiles launched by the natives.
1905, Edward S. Ellis, Deerfoot in The Mountains"Yes me big paleface—me come long way toward setting sun—go cross Big Water—go Buckskin—Siwash—chase cougar." The cougar, or mountain lion, is a Navajo god and the Navajos hold him in as much fear and reverence as do the Great Slave Indians the musk-ox.
1908, Zane Grey, The Last of the PlainsmenHigh Jack had been drinking too much rum ever since we landed in Boca. You know how an Indian is—the palefaces fixed his clock when they introduced him to firewater.
1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “He Also Serves”, in OptionsSynonyms: abelungu, ang moh, Angrez, balanda, béké, bule, cac, Caucasian
Paleface2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.
Origin
From pale + face, a supposed calque from a Native American language. First appears in print c. 1797.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бледолик
- бледолик (bledolik)a white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Czech bledá tvář
- bledá tvářa white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Danish blegansigt
- blegansigta white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Dutch bleekgezicht
- bleekgezichta white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Estonian kahvanägu
- kahvanägua white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Finnish kalpeanaama
- kalpeanaamaa white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
French visage pâle
- visage pâlea white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
German Bleichgesicht
- Bleichgesichta white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Greek χλωμό πρόσωπο
- χλωμό πρόσωπο (chlomó prósopo)a white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Hungarian sápadtarcú
- sápadtarcúa white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Italian viso pallido
- viso pallidoa white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Polish blada twarz
- blada twarza white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Portuguese cara-pálida
- cara-pálidaa white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Russian бледноли́цый
- бледноли́цый (blednolícyj)a white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Swedish blekansikte
- blekansiktea white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Ukrainian блідоли́ций
- блідоли́ций (blidolýcyj)a white person of European descent, in the context of American Indians
Cite this entry
paleface. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleface
“paleface.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleface. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paleface,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleface.
Source: paleface on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.