antimiscegenation
|an-ti-mis-ce-ge-na-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.mɪs.ə.dʒɛnˈeɪ.ʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.mɪs.ə.dʒenˈeɪ.ʃən/
opposition to interracial marriage
Etymology
'antimiscegenation' originates from the English prefix 'anti-' (ultimately from Greek 'anti'), specifically the element 'anti-' meaning 'against', combined with the word 'miscegenation', where 'miscegenation' was coined in English in the 19th century from Latin 'miscēre' meaning 'to mix' and Latin 'genus' meaning 'race or kind'.
'antimiscegenation' developed by adding the prefix 'anti-' to the 19th-century neologism 'miscegenation' (coined in the United States, 1863); the compound came to be used in English to describe movements, attitudes, and laws opposing racial mixing and interracial marriage.
Initially, 'miscegenation' referred simply to the mixing of races; 'antimiscegenation' originally meant 'against the mixing of races' and over time was used specifically for political movements and legal prohibitions against interracial marriage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
opposition to interracial marriage or sexual relations; the practice, movement, or laws that prohibit marriage or sexual relations between people of different races.
Antimiscegenation laws were enforced in many U.S. states until the 1967 Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/04 05:02