The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Mestizo

MESTIZO, a Spanish-American term for the mixed offspring of Europeans and Indians. In Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, mestizos are very numerous. Their color is almost a pure white, with a skin of remarkable transparency. The chief indications of the mixture of Indian blood are a thin beard, small hands and feet, and an obliquity of the eyes. The women of this race are called mestizas, and the offspring of their marriage with whites differ but slightly from pure Europeans.