latino
/ləˈtinoʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.79 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Latino.
noun
A person of a country that predominantly speaks a language that derives from the Latin language.
noun
A person, especially a male, from Latin America: contraction of latinoamericano. (Compare Latina.)
American usage
Example Sentences
- "She called Ottinger a "tool" of the business community and Lopez a "box checker,” apparently meaning that he was only nominally Latino and that he had acted in a way that was detrimental to the interests of Latinos."
- "Latinos have quickly become the largest ethnic minority in the United States."
- "Certainly, the activists in this study believe that Latinos face antibrown racism and consider racial justice for Latinos to be an increasingly important part of America's racial justice agenda."
- "Authorized by the court to engage in racial profiling, masked federal agents continue to descend upon “Democrat-run” cities, subjecting Latinos and now Somalis to ongoing abuse."
Etymology
American English, first attested in the 1960s for a person of Spanish-speaking or Latin American ancestry (notably Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban), originally an (informal) shortened form of Spanish latinoamericano (“Latin American”, adjective). Its appearance probably coincided with the colloquial use of Anglo (for a person of British or White US descent) and Afro (for a person of Black or African US descent).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ləˈtinoʊ/
- British English: /ləˈtiːnəʊ/
Usage
- American usage