latino

Meanings

1. Alternative letter-case form of Latino.

1. Of Latin American descent, Hispanic.

1. A person, especially and usually (interpreted as) a male, from Latin America, a Hispanic person. (Compare Latina.)

Etymology

American English, first attested in the 1960s for a person of Spanish-speaking or Latin American ancestry (notably Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban), originally an (informal) shortened form of Spanish latinoamericano (“Latin American”, adjective). Its appearance probably coincided with the colloquial use of Anglo (for a person of British or White US descent) and Afro (for a person of Black or African US descent).