mischling means in certain (especially Nazi) racial theories, someone of mixed race; especially one who is partly of Jewish descent. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
mischling is pronounced /ˈmɪʃlɪŋ/.
Why “mischling” is a great word
A person of mixed Aryan and Jewish ancestry, a specific legal classification under the Nazi regime. From German *Mischling*, from *mischen* ("to mix") + *-ling* (suffix forming nouns, often denoting a person associated with the root). Unlike "mongrel," a colloquialism for a dog of mixed breed, or "mulatto," a historical term rooted in the transatlantic slave trade, *Mischling* is a chillingly bureaucratic term of pseudo-scientific taxonomy. It is the cold stamp on an identity card, the whispered calculation of grandparents at a family table, the suffocating limbo of being defined by a fractional heritage—a word that proves categorization can be the prelude to erasure.
Etymology
From German Mischling.
noun
- In certain (especially Nazi) racial theories, someone of mixed race; especially one who is partly of Jewish descent.“Dodo had been married to a drunken and adulterous wife-beater, Lionel Hickman by name, who had continued our mischling tradition by converting to Judaism in order to marry her, given her an all-around vile time, and then been run over by a tram during the blackout that accompanied the Nazi blitzkrieg.”
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