View synonyms for Creole

Creole

[ kree-ohl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a person born in the West Indies or Spanish America but of European, usually Spanish, ancestry.
a person born in Louisiana but of usually French ancestry.
Sometimes cre·ole. a person of mixed Black and European, especially French or Spanish, ancestry who speaks a creolized form of French or Spanish.
Usually cre·ole. creole language ( def ).
the creolized French language of the descendants of the original settlers of Louisiana. Compare Cajun ( def 2 ).
Haitian Creole ( def ).
Usually cre·ole. Archaic. a Black person born in the Americas, as distinguished from one brought there from Africa.

adjective

Sometimes cre·ole. relating to or characteristic of a Creole or Creoles.
Usually cre·ole. Cooking. indicating a spicy sauce or dish, especially one made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, celery, and seasonings, and often served with rice.
Sometimes cre·ole. bred or growing in a country, but of foreign origin, as an animal or plant.

Creole

/ ˈkriːəʊl /

noun

sometimes not capital in the Caribbean and Latin America
1. a native-born person of European, esp Spanish, ancestry
2. a native-born person of mixed European and African ancestry who speaks a French or Spanish creole
3. a native-born Black person as distinguished from one brought from Africa
(in Louisiana and other Gulf States of the US) a native-born person of French ancestry
the creolized French spoken in Louisiana, esp in New Orleans

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of any of these peoples

creole

/ ˈkriːəʊl /

noun

a language that has its origin in extended contact between two language communities, one of which is generally European. It incorporates features from each and constitutes the mother tongue of a community Compare pidgin

adjective

denoting, relating to, or characteristic of creole
(of a sauce or dish) containing or cooked with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, etc

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Other Words From

half-Cre·ole adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Creole¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French, from Spanish criollo, from Portuguese crioulo “native,” derivative of criar “to bring up,” from Latin creāre; create

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Creole¹

C17: via French and Spanish probably from Portuguese crioulo slave born in one's household, person of European ancestry born in the colonies, probably from criar to bring up, from Latin creāre to create

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Example Sentences

What she did not realise until years later was that the Creole word came directly from the English word "hurry up".

From BBC

Creole Green, the boy’s mother, could not be immediately reached for comment.

From Los Angeles Times

The Seychellois are delighted by the "Old Creole", which includes more French words, she remembers from childhood.

From BBC

A light touch of herbs, some seasonings and a bright pop of fresh lemon juice, and you have a most brilliant concoction, a concoction that is now as much of a Creole classic as gumbo.

From Salon

The crowds enjoying the Rose Goute Creole Restaurant’s Haitian cuisine testify to that, and Mayor Rob Rue stresses that a Trump visit would put “an extreme strain” on the city’s resources.

From Salon

creodont creole continuum

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