| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| Anglo |
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| SYLLABICATION: | An·glo |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   ng gl |
| VARIANT FORMS: | also an·glo |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. An·glos
1. Informal An Anglo-American. 2. An English-speaking person, especially a white North American who is not of Hispanic or French descent. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Short for Anglo-American. | | OTHER FORMS: | Anglo —ADJECTIVE
| | USAGE NOTE: | In contemporary American usage, Anglo is used primarily in direct contrast to Hispanic or Latino. In this context it is not limited to persons of English or even British descent, but can be generally applied to any non-Hispanic white person. Thus in parts of the United States with large Hispanic populations, an American of Polish, Irish, or German heritage might be termed an Anglo just as readily as a person of English descent. However, in parts of the country where the Hispanic community is smaller or nonexistent, or in areas where ethnic distinctions among European groups remain strong, Anglo has little currency as a catch-all term for non-Hispanic whites. •Anglo is also used in non-Hispanic contexts. In Canada, where its usage dates at least to 1800, the distinction is between persons of English and French descent. And in American historical contexts Anglo is apt to be used more strictly to refer to persons of English heritage, as in this passage describing the politics of nation-building in pre-Revolutionary America: “The ‘unity’ of the American people derived … from the ability and willingness of an Anglo elite to stamp its image on other peoples coming to this country“ (Benjamin Schwarz).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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