Colored is a term used in the United States to refer to black people (i.e., persons of sub-Saharan African ancestry; members of the black race). Since the success of the African-American Civil rights movement, the term, along with "negro" and others, has been largely replaced by "black".[1] According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word colored was first used in the 14th Century.[2]
In other English-speaking countries, the term has varied meanings. In South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the term Coloured refers both to a specific ethnic group of complex mixed origins, which is considered neither black nor white, and in other contexts to people of mixed race; in neither context is its usage considered derogatory. In British usage, the term refers to "a person who is wholly or partly of non-white descent" and its use may be regarded as antiquated or offensive,[3][4] and other terms are preferable, particularly when referring to a single ethnicity.
The term should not be confused with the term people of color, which generally refers to all non-white people.