latina

latina — adjective

1. Used to describe a female person whose family roots are in the Spanish- or Portu

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Used to describe a female person whose family roots are in the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries of the Americas, or who was born or grew up there.

Example

Beatriz is a Latina actress from Mexico who now works in Hollywood.

Latina + occupation noun

The school started a programme for Latina students who want to study engineering.

Latina + noun describing people

Common collocations
  • Latina woman
  • Latina girl
  • Latina actress
  • Latina community
Synonyms
  • Latin American

    broader term that includes both genders and does not specify female

  • Hispanic

    includes people from Spain as well as Latin America; not limited to females

Grammar Patterns

Latina + noun

Usage Note

This adjective is used only of women and girls. The equivalent masculine form is Latino. In English, it is typically capitalized because it derives from the proper noun Latin America.

Common Mistakes

He is a Latina artist.
He is a Latino artist.
Latina is the feminine form; use Latino for males.

latina — noun

latina — idiom

Word family

  • Latino
    nounB1
  • Latinx
    nounC1
  • Latin American
    adjectiveA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Latina refers specifically to a woman or girl of Latin American heritage living in the US. Latino can be the masculine counterpart (a Latino man) or, increasingly, a gender-neutral term for any person of Latin American background. Hispanic has a broader geographic scope: it includes anyone from a Spanish-speaking country, including Spain, whereas Latina/o specifically refers to Latin America. Latinx (pronounced luh-TEE-neks) is a modern gender-neutral alternative to Latino/Latina, used especially in academic and activist circles, though it has not gained widespread everyday use. For example, a woman from Buenos Aires is a Latina, while someone from Madrid is Hispanic but not Latina.

Latino ↗HispanicLatinx

Etymology

SpanishAmerican SpanishEnglish

Latina comes from American Spanish, the feminine form of Latino, which is a shortened version of latinoamericano (Latin American). The term entered English in the late twentieth century in the United States as part of a growing movement toward self-identification by people of Latin American heritage.