amerasian

/ˌæm.əˈɹeɪ.ʒən/

Etymology

Blend of American + Asian, modelled after Eurasian.

Why this word is great

AMERASIAN — [Adjective] Of mixed American and Asian parentage, especially the child of an Asian mother and an American father, typically a U.S. serviceman stationed in Asia. A blend of *American* and *Asian*, modeled after *Eurasian*, the term carries the weight of war and displacement in its syllables. Unlike *Eurasian* (which denotes European-Asian heritage) or *Asian American* (which implies cultural assimilation rather than mixed lineage), *Amerasian* is a geopolitical artifact, a living remnant of conflict and fleeting intimacy. It is the child with their father’s blue eyes and their mother’s Vietnamese cheekbones, the teenager in Seoul flipping through old photographs of a man in uniform, the adult in Ho Chi Minh City speaking broken English with an accent they didn’t inherit—a word that maps not just ancestry, but absence.

adj

  1. Of mixed American and Asian parentage.“Keane's speeches have not reduced the number of Amerasian births, but a decade of sleuthing has helped nearly 600 Amerasian orphans find new homes in the United States.”

noun

  1. A person of mixed American and Asian parentage, especially if their father was an American serviceman or temporary resident stationed in Asia.“I am an Amerasian, why am I not allowed to stay here legally? Why do you try to keep me out, why do you discriminate against me?”