[Ads-l] Help Sought on Antedatings of "Hispanic"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Interesting topic, Fred. Here is the definition for the noun Hispanic
in the OED. The first citation in the OED is dated 1972 as mentioned
by Fred.

[Begin excerpt from OED]
Hispanic,
B. n.
A Spanish-speaking person, esp. one of Latin-American descent, living
in the U.S. Chiefly in plural.
[End excerpt from OED]

Here is an instance in 1916 of the plural noun Hispanics in a poem.
The noun seems to mean people of Spain.

[ref] 1916 February 12, The Daily Star-Mirror, Fashion Hints by
Margaret Mason for United Press, Quote Page 2, Column 1, Moscow,
Idaho. (GenealogyBank) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
FASHION HINTS
The ladies, Lord love 'em, tis season would fain
Dress just like the beauties in sunny old Spain;
And so Yetta Goldstein and Mollie McShane
And Gretchen Von Schmidt and Fifi Duquesne
Are perfect Hispanics when not called by name.
—Margaret Mason for United Press.
[End excerpt]

Here is an instance of the plural noun Hispanics in 1950. This seems
to fit the common modern sense.

[ref] 1950 July 11, The Denver Post, We Must Break Racial Bars by
Ruben C. Valdez, Quote Page 12, Column 6, Denver, Colorado.
(GenealogyBank) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
Now, the obvious intent of Communist proponents in this region is to
form a coalition of Negroes, Jews, Hispanics, and if possible,
orientals. Such a group would presumably be the nucleus for
revolutionary tactics if the Reds were able to develop their campaign
successfully.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Sep 2, 2022 at 9:04 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> In 2011 I made two postings on this list concerning early uses of the term "Hispanic."  I would welcome contributions of earlier citations for the adjective "Hispanic" in its older meaning and in its newer meaning.  I would also be interesting in pushing back early usage of the noun "Hispanic," which is dated 1972 by the OED.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 6:06 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: More on Antedating of "Hispanic"
>
> Here is a quick stab at an early citation for the old meaning of "Hispanic":
>
> 1867 _North American Review_ July 23 (JSTOR)  The invasion of the Barbarians may have found in the Hispanic and Gallic provinces a material to work upon very different from that which it encountered in the popular speech of Italy.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Shapiro, Fred [fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU]
> Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 6:02 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Antedating of "Hispanic"
>
> Considering the importance and sensitivity of the adjective "Hispanic," it is surprising that the OED has gone so long with an inadequate entry for it.  The old meaning of the word ("Pertaining to Spain or its people") has no quotations in OED, and the new meaning ("Spanish-speaking, esp. applied to someone of Latin-American descent living in the United States") has a late dating of 1974 for the first use.
>
> I have not made a full-blown effort to push back the first use of the new meaning, but here is the earliest I have found in cursory research:
>
> 1960 _Chicago Defender_ 23 Jan. 11 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)  NEW YORK -- Several hundred questionnaires have been mailed to all known Spanish-speaking organizations in the metropolitan area, as part of a "census" of such organizations and their leadership, conducted jointly by the Commission on Intergroup Relations, the Puerto Rican-Hispanic Leadership Forum and the Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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