Melungeon

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Melungeon \Me*lun"geon\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]langer to mix,
     m['e]lange a mixture.]
     One of a mixed white and Indian people living in parts of
     Tennessee and the Carolinas. They are descendants of early
     intermixtures of white settlers with natives. In North
     Carolina the


  
     {Croatan Indians}, regarded as descended from Raleigh's lost
        colony of Croatan, formerly classed with negroes, are now
        legally recognized as distinct.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]