The Word “Racism” in the Dictionary

Several years ago, I embarked on a project investigating the history of the word “racism.” The project has gotten sidetracked for now, but I wanted to publish some of my findings in the event that they will be helpful to others.

One of the things I did was to look at the definition of the word in a bunch of dictionaries over time. I did this in the British Library in London in the summer of 2019. (Ahh, the distant memory of traveling!)

As I found in my research, the word “racism” was not used in English until 1903 and even then it remained obscure until the 1930s, when it began to be used more widely, mostly in relation to the racial policies of the Nazi regime in Germany.

One can see this in the entry for “racisme” in the French dictionary, Larousse du XXe Siècle, from 1932. This was probably the first use of the word in a French dictionary, and maybe any dictionary!

There, “racisme” was defined as the “party, doctrine of the racists” [“Parti, doctrine des racistes”]. This definition is not helpful until we see the definition of “raciste”: “name given to the German National Socialists who claim to represent the pure German race, excluding the Jews, etc.” [“Nom donné aux nationaux-socialistes allemands qui prétendent représenter la pure race allemande, en excluant les juifs, etc.”].

The entry “racism” does not come into an English dictionary until 1939, as outlined in this article in The Atlantic. This was in the Addenda to the Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language (1939) which defined “racism” as an “assumption of inherent racial superiority or the purity and superiority of certain races, and consequent discrimination against other races.”

While I actually looked at this dictionary when I was in London, I did not check the Addenda! Thus, I only recorded the definition of “racialism” which was in the main section of the dictionary. (“Racialism” was basically a synonym of “racism” and is still used today, although “racism” seems to be much preferred now.)

I include a list of the entries below, from the 1930s until the 2010s. One thing to notice is how consistent the definition has been. Another is how focused on individual racism the dictionaries have been — individual prejudice, discrimination, or ideology — as opposed to institutional or systemic racism. The concept of “institutional racism” was first developed in 1967 in the book Black Power, by Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture) and Charles V. Hamilton, but found little traction in dictionaries, as we can see.

Edit: As Mansa Keita (https://twitter.com/rasmansa) pointed out to me, the earlier definitions often mention “policy” or “doctrine,” but this language begins to fall away in later definitions. This could be because early definitions took Nazi Germany as the archetypal case of “racism.”

If you find further dictionary entries, let me know!

The list:

Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language (2nd ed.) (1939)

Racialism: “Racial characteristics, tendencies, prejudices, or the like; specif., race hatred.”

Racialist: “One promoting or animated by racialism; esp. one who maintains that some races are inherently superior to others. Cf. egalitarianism.”

The American College Dictionary (1953)

Racialism: “the belief or the practice of the doctrine of racism.”

Racism: “1. a belief that human races have distinctive make-ups that determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy of enforcing such asserted right. 3. a system of government and society based upon it.”

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged (1961)

Racialism: “1: racial prejudice or discrimination : race hatred 2: racism”

Racialist: “1: one animated by or practicing racialism 2: one who advocates or believes in racism”

Racism: “1: the assumption that psychocultural traits and capacities are determined by biological race and that races differ decisively from one another which is usu. coupled with a belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race and its right to domination over others 2a: a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles b: a political or social system founded on racism 3: racialism 1”

Racist (1): “one who advocates or believes in racism”

Racist (2): “1: of, relating to, or based on racism <~ ideas> 2: advocating or practicing racism <a ~ leader>

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: New College Edition (1976)

Racism: “The notion that one’s own ethnic stock is superior.”

Collins Dictionary of the English Language (1979)

Racialism or Racism [both are listed together]: “1. the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others. 2. abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief.”

The Macquarie Dictionary [Australian English] (1981)

Racism: “1. the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usu. involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others. 2. offensive or aggressive behaviour to members of another race stemming from such a belief. 3. a policy or system of government and society based upon it.”

Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.) (1989)

Racialism: “Belief in the superiority of a particular race leading to prejudice and antagonism towards people of other races, esp. those in close proximity who may be felt as a threat to one’s cultural and racial integrity or economic well-being.”

Racism: “The theory that distinctive human characteristics and abilities are determined by race.”

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 [1996])

Racism: “1 hatred, rivalry or bad feeling between races. 2 belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race or races over others, usually with the implication of a right to be dominant. 3 discriminatory treatment based on such a belief.”

The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998)

Racism: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.”

“prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief: a programme to combat racism.”

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (1998)

Racism: “1 a belief in the superiority of a particular race. 2 prejudice based on this. 3 antagonism towards other races, esp. as a result of this prejudice. 4 the theory that human abilities etc. are determined by race.”

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.) (2000)

Racialism: “1a. An emphasis on race or racial considerations, as in determining policy or interpreting events. b. Policy or practice based on racial considerations. 2. Chiefly British Variant of racism.”

Racism: “1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.”

The Times English Dictionary (2000)

Racism or Racialism: “1 the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others. 2 abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief.”

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.) (2003)

Racialism: “a theory that race determines human traits and capabilities.”

Racism: “1. a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2: racial prejudice or discrimination.”

The Chambers Dictionary (13th ed.) (2014)

Racism (contained within the definition of “race”): “hatred, rivalry or bad feeling between races; belief in the inherent superiority of some races over others, usu with the implication of a right to be dominant; discriminative treatment based on such belief.”