a man of colour
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
An old-fashioned term for a Negro, or, more strictly speaking, one with Negro blood.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a man of colour” mean?
An old-fashioned term for a Negro, or, more strictly speaking, one with Negro blood.
Is “a man of colour” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.