What does colored mean?
Colored is primarily an adjective meaning having color, or possessing a particular color, often implying vividness, artificial dyeing, or visual distinction: colored lights, colored paper, faintly colored water. It derives from 'color,' which entered English via Old French from Latin 'color.' The word is unremarkable when describing objects, appearing constantly in everyday phrases like colored pencils and brightly colored fabrics. Its history as a human descriptor is far more complicated. In the United States, 'colored' as a label for Black people dates to the nineteenth century, became institutionalized during segregation, and is now considered dated and offensive, surviving mostly in historic names such as the NAACP. In South Africa, by contrast, 'Coloured' remains an accepted term for a specific community of mixed ancestry. Knowing both senses — and the sharp difference in register between them — is essential to using this word appropriately today.
Having color or a specified color; marked or decorated with color rather than being plain or colorless.
"The stained-glass window cast colored patterns across the stone floor."
A dated and now generally offensive term, in the United States, for a Black person.
"Signs using this term survive mainly in museums as evidence of the segregation era."
Avoid in modern writing except in historical quotation or fixed names such as the NAACP.
Only relevant to the dated, offensive noun sense referring to people; strongly avoid in modern usage. The adjective has no plural.
"This sense appears almost exclusively in historical documents."
The same word that sounds quaint in 'colored pencils' became a loaded relic of segregation in America — yet in South Africa, 'Coloured' remains a living, official identity for millions of people.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of colored
Colored comes from 'color,' which English borrowed from Old French 'colour' (modern French 'couleur'), ultimately from Latin 'color,' meaning hue or complexion. The participial form 'colored' developed in Middle English to describe things given or marked with color. Cognate and derived forms include 'colorful,' 'colorless,' 'discolor,' and 'coloration.' The racial sense emerged in American English in the 1800s and carried different trajectories in the United States and South Africa.
Related word forms
How colored is actually used
As a color adjective, 'colored' is neutral and everyday. Applied to people, however, it carries heavy historical baggage: in the United States it is dated and generally offensive, a relic of segregation-era language, though it survives in fixed names such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In South Africa, 'Coloured' (capitalized) remains an accepted self-designation for a distinct community of mixed heritage — a regional difference worth knowing. The spelling 'coloured' is standard outside North America.
Easily confused with colored
'Coloured' is simply the standard British spelling of the same word, while 'colored' is the American spelling.
'Person of color' is the current, respectful term in the US for anyone who is not white, whereas 'colored' as applied to people is outdated and widely considered offensive.