Amerasian

(am′ər āz̸hən)

noun

a person of both American and Asian descent, esp. the child of a U.S. serviceman and an Asian woman

Origin: Amer(ican) + Asian

adjective

  1. both American and Asian: an Amerasian child
  2. of or for Amerasians

See Amerasian in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
A person of American and Asian descent, especially one whose mother is Asian and whose father is American.

Origin:

Origin: Amer(ican)

Origin: + Asian

.

Related Forms:

  • Amˌer·aˈsian adjective
Usage Note: Amerasian is not a synonym for either Asian American or Eurasian. The word dates to the early 1950s and has been used primarily with reference to children fathered in Asia by American servicemen. Since American servicemen are of varying backgrounds, there is no particular racial or ethnic connotation to Amerasian apart from the fact that one parent, generally the mother, is an ethnic Asian. In contrast, Asian American is typically used of a person whose parents are both ethnic Asians but who by birth or naturalization is an American citizen, while Eurasian designates a person of mixed Asian and European, or white, parentage. Though many Amerasians are, ethnically speaking, also Eurasians, in practice the two terms do not overlap very much, with Amerasian continuing to be restricted in usage to the historical context of the American military presence in East and Southeast Asia.
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