blue skin
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A person begotten on a black woman by a white man. One of the blue squadron; any one having a cross of the black breed, or, as it is termed, a lick of the tar brush.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “blue skin” mean?
A person begotten on a black woman by a white man. One of the blue squadron; any one having a cross of the black breed, or, as it is termed, a lick of the tar brush.
Is “blue skin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.