color line

[ kuhl-er lahyn ]

/ ˈkʌl ər ˌlaɪn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR color line ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called col·or bar

[kuhl-er bahr] /ˈkʌl ər ˌbɑr/ . social or political restriction or distinction based on differences of skin pigmentation, as between white and Black people.

Idioms for color line

draw the color line, to observe a color line.

Origin of color line

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Words nearby color line

colorism, colorist, colorize, color-key, colorless, color line, color of someone's money, see the, color phase, color radical, colorrhagia, colorrhaphy

Example sentences from the Web for color line

The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.
The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States|Benjamin Brawley
Across the color-line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls.
The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States|Benjamin Brawley
Wherever the discussion began it promptly shaded off toward the color-line and insult.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
The Roman Catholic Church deserves praise for its disregard of the color-line.
American Missionary, Volume 43, No. 2, February, 1889|Various

The “discoverer” had been the bane of many a people—remember the color-line!
Mr. Oseba's Last Discovery|George W. Bell