The word 'creole' originates from the Portuguese 'crioulo', meaning a person born in the colonies, derived from 'criar' meaning 'to raise'. It passed into Spanish and French with similar meanings and entered English in the 18th century, expanding to denote mixed ethnicities and languages that developed in colonial contexts.
A person of mixed European and black descent, especially in the Caribbean; a language that developed from a mixture of different languages; relating to such people or languages.
From Portuguese 'crioulo', originally meaning a person born in the colonies, especially of European descent. Key roots: criar (Portuguese: "to raise, to bring up").