of color
(historical) Belonging to a category of people with mixed black and white ancestry in the Americas in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1779 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
Feds investigate Stanford’s program supporting teachers of color edsource.org/updates/stan...
Let's just think about it. In our inequal societies people of color, people with disabilities, and all the people from marginalized groups experience exactly this: Whatever they do, it's never enough (for us white p…
Much better—I’d recommend using some blocks of color on the text side for some visual interest.
I just so badly want to see people of color win. I want us to be housed, happy, secure, successful. Tonight my heart hurts for myself and for so many of the people around me who deserve the world.
It specifically focuses on a National Board partnership program that prioritizes people of color and teachers from low-income schools to boost diversity among school teachers, according to The Mercury News.
Definitions
(historical) Belonging to a category of people with mixed black and white ancestry in the Americas in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
“Feds investigate Stanford’s program supporting teachers of color edsource.org/updates/stan...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Let's just think about it. In our inequal societies people of color, people with disabilities, and all the people from marginalized groups experience exactly this: Whatever they do, it's never enough (for us white people). 2/11”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Much better—I’d recommend using some blocks of color on the text side for some visual interest.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I just so badly want to see people of color win. I want us to be housed, happy, secure, successful. Tonight my heart hurts for myself and for so many of the people around me who deserve the world.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It specifically focuses on a National Board partnership program that prioritizes people of color and teachers from low-income schools to boost diversity among school teachers, according to The Mercury News.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(chiefly, US) Nonwhite; of a race other than white, for example black.
"of color" means: Nonwhite; of a race other than white, for example black.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"of color" means: Nonwhite; of a race other than white, for example black.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. Note the regional or dialect label (US) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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