Melungeon


Me·lun·geon

M5221950 (mĕ-lŭn′jən)n. A member of a group of people living primarily in the southern Appalachians, thought to be descended from a mixture of southern European, Middle Eastern, African, and Native American peoples.
[Perhaps ultimately from French mélange, mixture (the French word being brought to the Appalachians by Huguenot settlers from Virginia); see mélange, or from African and Brazilian Portuguese malungo, comrade, person transported on the same slave ship as oneself (probably from Mbundu malungo, companion, adopted brother, or a kindred Bantu source).]

melungeon

(məˈlʌndʒən) n (Peoples) any of a dark-skinned group of people of the Appalachians in E Tennessee, of mixed Indian, White, and Black ancestry[C20: of unknown origin]