yellowskinadj.n.
/ˈjɛlə(ʊ)skɪn/, U.S. /ˈjɛloʊˌskɪn/ A. adj.
Originally Caribbean. Now chiefly in African-American usage. Designating a light-skinned black person. Cf. yellow adj. 4b.
ΚΠ
1780 Royal Gaz. (Kingston, Jamaica) 22 July (Suppl.) 447/1 Run away, from Isaac Gomez Silva, a yellow skin Eboe Wench, named Mimba.
1866 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 26 Dec. Finding his revolver would not go off, [he] told a yellow skin soldier (as he is described) to shoot William Gray.
1876 Further Papers Late Disturbances Barbados 138 in Parl. Papers (C. 1559) LIII. 261 A yellow skin woman from Strong Hope (next estate) caught hold of my wife..and shook her.
1982 A. Walker Color Purple 71 I see Harpo cross the room with his little yellowskin girlfriend.
2015 @therealmdz 25 Sept. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) I love a yellowskin girl in black ripped jeans.
B. n.
1. A light-skinned black person. Cf. yellow adj. 4b. Now chiefly in African-American usage.
ΘΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > black person > [noun] > light-skinned
white Negro1766
yellowskin1831
yellow1873
pink toe1930
light-skin1935
peola1938
play-white1952
redbone1983
lightie1991
1831 Liberator 10 Sept. 145/3 Don't understand me to mean by the term ‘freemen’, yellow skins or knotty heads.
1875 Georgia Weekly Tel. 9 Mar. An unfortunate yellowskin made a demonstration at a right point, but in a wrong way, the other morning.
2013 @kaaaylawaaayla 27 Apr. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Us yellowskins gotta stick together.
2. A person with naturally yellowish or pale olive skin or complexion; (in later use) esp. a person of South-East or East Asian (especially Chinese or Japanese) ethnic origin. Cf. yellow adj. 4a. Often derogatory and now offensive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > Mongol > [noun]
Mogul1598
Mongol1613
Mogulian1672
yellow1775
Mongolian1823
yellowskin1847
Mongoloid1868
xanthoderm1924
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > other racial types > [noun]
Pontic1683
yellow man1788
yellowskin1847
Euro-African1854
Mediterranean1876
Armenoid1894
Alpine1899
Nordic1900
Eurasiatic1901
blond beast1907
Caspian1923
Veddoid1948
1847 Liberator (Boston) 30 Apr. 4/5 About 4,500 uncircumcised yellowskins [i.e. Mexicans] were sent into eternity by the sanctifying powder of our holy cannon.
1853 M. Reid Rifle Rangers (new ed.) xiii. 89 I was in hopes we'd have a brush with the yellow-skins [1850 yellow fellows].
1863 Glasgow Herald 24 Oct. 6/2 All this indicated that the yellow skins [i.e. Maoris] possessed a certain degree of intellectual vigour.
1889 Railway Press 26 Apr. 6/3 A ‘white’ will not take less than 10s. a day, whereas the yellowskin only gets 3s. 6d.
1904 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 289 Russia has ever regarded herself as the dear friend of the nations who are now contemptuously nick-named ‘yellowskins’.
1994 R. Fung in K. Aguilar-San Juan State of Asian Amer. vii. 171 I am aware that my sense of priorities..is rooted in being both an indistinguishable yellowskin and specifically Chinese.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1780