Show A correspondent desires to know the meaning of the word Creole and to what race of people the term applies I is from the Spanish word criollo meaning negro or criar bring up or the Latin creo meaning create It may refer to a native of the West Indies of Spanish descent In the United States it is applied natives descended descend-ed from Spanish or French parentage I has been applied in Louisiana to a I native white who speaks French In Brazil it means a native but of African Afri-can parents In Mexico the word is used to describe one between a white and a negro Usually it applies to anyone any-one born in the country but of a race not native to it And in the gulf statesit is a term used to distinguish the descendants of French and Spanish Span-ish settlers from foreign born Spanish J and French and halfbreeds |