colored

(kŭlˈərd)

adjective

1. Having color: colored tissue paper.
2. also Colored Often Offensive
   a. Of or belonging to a racial group not categorized as white.
   b. Black or African-American.
   c. Of mixed racial descent.
3. often Coloured South African Of or belonging to a population grouping made up of persons of mixed racial descent or of certain other nonwhite descent, especially as distinguished during apartheid from Blacks, Asians, or whites.
4. Distorted or biased, as by irrelevant or incorrect information.

noun pl. colored colored or coloreds

1. also Colored Offensive
   a. A person belonging to a racial group not categorized as white.
   b. A Black person; an African American.
   c. A person of mixed racial descent.
2. often Coloured South African A person belonging to the Coloured population grouping, especially during apartheid.

Usage Note: As a racial label, colored can simply mean nonwhite, but in the United States its usage has generally been restricted to persons of African descent. Though long a preferred term among Black Americans, it lost favor as the 20th century progressed, and its use today is often taken to be offensive. In South Africa, where it is spelled as in British English and usually written uppercase, Coloured has generally been used to refer to persons of mixed racial descent as opposed to those of unmixed Black African, Asian, or European origin. Its use as an official ethnic label ended when apartheid was dismantled in 1991. See Usage Note at color.