Caucasian
Caucasian is originally a geographical term, meaning relative or pertaining to the
Caucasus region of eastern
Europe. It has in time acquired other specific meanings:\n* in
linguistics, the
Caucasian languages are a large number of languages spoken in the Caucasus area; often specifically those that have no demonstrated relatives outside of that region, which are classified into the
South,
Northwest,
Northeast, and
North-central Caucasian language families.
- in physical anthropology, the Caucasian race is meant for a specific race of Homo sapiens, sometimes given a Latin designation such as "Varietas Caucasia" (sic), which does not follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
- in forensic anthropology and census contexts, especially in the United States, the Caucasian type is a specific combination of physical attributes, especially white skin.
- in common usage and political contexts, Caucasian refers to light-complexioned people indigenous to, or descended from Europe, northern Africa, southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. In North America, Caucasian usually means a white person of northern, eastern and western European descent, excluding people with significant Asian, African, or American Indian ancestry.
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