In a message dated 7/6/99 1:07:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << So the Spanish rood comes from Arabic, not Latin. >> Merriam Collegiate Dictionary: Mu*lat*to (noun)....plural (-toes or tos) Spanish mulato from mule; from Latin mulus. First appeared in 1593. 1) The 1st generation of a black person and a white person; 2) A person of mixed black and white ancestry. Certainly a discussion of ancestry is *on topic* for Lists devoted to genealogy. However, a List devoted to genealogy is not the proper place to discuss the topic *as raised* in the manner that <<[email protected] (Jon Grimes)>> has introduced it ... ie to settle a dispute filled with sociological, political and historical perspectives and persuasions. As Russ suggested, there are better venues for that type of discussion. JMO, folks. 8-) Gloria [email protected]