redbone

noun — 3 senses

redbone

nounalso spelled Redbone

US /ˈɹɛd.boʊn/

Etymology From red + bone.

1

US A dark-red or tan coonhound.

2

Louisiana, US An African American with light skin with red undertones.

Redbones are commonly supposed to represent a fusion of the Indian, Negro, and white races […]1936, LA bulletin: Agricultural Experiment Station of the Louisiana State University & A. & M. College, numbers 268-293, page 13:
The store attracted countless colorful characters, including Native Americans, wild-cowboy Texans, Chinese laborers, and “redbones,” the offspring of African Americans and Native Americans.2009, Janet Allured, Judith F. Gentry, Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times, page 122:

1 more example

I can joke about being a redbone, and I am that. But most folks don't make no distinction between a redbone and a colored man, unless it's to their benefit.2012, Gerald Duff, Dirty Rice: A Season in the Evangeline League, page 238:

Related terms: high yellow, yellow bone

Redbone

noun

1

A member of any of several specific North American ethnic groups called Redbones

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for redbone and Redbone.