quadroon
/kwɒˈdruːn
/noun dated or offensive
A person who is one-quarter black by descent.For example, censuses from 1850 through 1890 and again in 1910 and 1920 included one or more black racial subcategories, such as black, mulatto, quadroon, and octoroon....
- Yes, in the American south well past the days of slavery, you could find references to maroons, quadroons, octoroons, etc.
- An inheritance from Wayles, the quadroon Hemings was house slave at Monticello.
Origin
Early 18th century (earlier as quarteron): via French from Spanish cuarterón, from cuarto 'quarter', from Latin quartus; later assimilated to words beginning with quadri-.