The term Hispanic derives from the
Latin word , the adjectival derivation of '''', which means of the
Iberian Peninsula and possibly
Celtiberian origin. In English the word is attested from the 16th century (and in the late 19th century in American English). The words
Spain,
Spanish, and
Spaniard are of the same etymology as ''
, ultimately. In English, the term Hispano-Roman
is sometimes used. The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different Indigenous tribes, in addition to colonists from Italia. Some famous (plural of '') and were the emperors
Trajan,
Marcus Aurelius,
Hadrian,
Theodosius I and
Magnus Maximus, the poets
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus,
Martial and
Prudentius, the philosophers
Seneca the Elder and
Seneca the Younger, and the usurper
Maximus of Hispania. A number of these men, such as Trajan, Hadrian and others, were in fact descended from Roman colonial families. Here follows a comparison of several terms related to
Hispanic: •
Hispania was the name of the
Iberian Peninsula/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a
Roman Empire province and immediately thereafter as a
Visigothic kingdom, 5th–8th century. •
Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania, both during the Roman period and subsequent Visigothic period. •
Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world, particularly the
Americas. •
Spanish is used to refer to the people, nationality, culture, language and other things of Spain. •
Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain.
Hispania was divided into two provinces:
Hispania Citerior and
Hispania Ulterior. In 27 BC, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces,
Hispania Baetica and
Hispania Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed
Hispania Tarraconensis. This division of Hispania explains the usage of the singular and plural forms (Spain, and The Spains) used to refer to the peninsula and its kingdoms in the Middle Ages. Before the marriage of Queen
Isabella I of Castile and King
Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula—the Kingdom of
Portugal, the
Crown of Aragon, the
Crown of Castile, and the
Kingdom of Navarre—were collectively called The Spains. This revival of the old Roman concept in the
Middle Ages appears to have originated in
Provençal, and was first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the
Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote. The terms
Spain and
the Spains were not interchangeable. Spain was a
geographic territory, home to several kingdoms (Christian and Muslim), with separate governments, laws, languages, religions, and customs, and was the historical remnant of the Hispano-Gothic unity. Spain was not a political entity until much later, and when referring to the Middle Ages, one should not be confounded with the nation-state of today. The term
The Spains referred specifically to a collective of juridico-political units, first the Christian kingdoms, and then the different kingdoms ruled by the same king. Illustrative of this fact is the historical ecclesiastical title of
Primate of the Spains, traditionally claimed by the
Archbishop of Braga, a Portuguese prelate. With the
Decretos de Nueva Planta,
Philip V started to organize the fusion of his kingdoms that until then were ruled as distinct and independent, but this unification process lacked a formal and juridic proclamation. Although colloquially and literally the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread, it did not refer to a unified nation-state. It was only in
the constitution of 1812 that was adopted the name
Españas (Spains) for the Spanish nation and the use of the title of "king of the Spains".
The constitution of 1876 adopts for the first time the name "Spain" for the Spanish nation and from then on the kings would use the title of "king of Spain". . As a result of the significant mixing of populations during this time, the term "Hispanic" is often considered independent of racial background. The expansion of the
Spanish Empire between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, who established settlements, mainly in the Americas, but also in other distant parts of the world (as in the Philippines, the lone Spanish territory in Asia), producing a number of multiracial populations. Today, the varied populations of these places, including those with Spanish ancestry, are also designated as Hispanic.
Definitions in ancient Rome The Latin gentile adjectives that belong to Hispania are
Hispanus, Hispanicus, and
Hispaniensis. A Hispanus is someone who is a native of Hispania with no foreign parents, while children born in Hispania of Roman parents were
Hispanienses.
Hispaniensis means 'connected in some way to Hispania', as in "Exercitus Hispaniensis" ('the Spanish army') or "mercatores Hispanienses" ('Spanish merchants').
Hispanicus implies 'of' or 'belonging to' Hispania or the Hispanus or of their fashion as in "gladius Hispanicus". The gentile adjectives were not ethnolinguistic but derived primarily on a geographic basis, from the toponym Hispania as the people of Hispania spoke different languages, although Titus Livius (
Livy) said they could all understand each other, not making clear if they spoke dialects of the same language or were polyglots. The first recorded use of an
anthroponym derived from the toponym Hispania is attested in one of the five fragments, of
Ennius in 236 BC who wrote "Hispane, non Romane memoretis loqui me" ("Remember that I speak like a Hispanic not a Roman") as having been said by a native of Hispania.
Definitions in Portugal, Spain, the rest of Europe In Portugal, Hispanic refers to something historical related to ancient Hispania (especially the terms Hispano-Roman and Hispania) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries. Although sharing the etymology for the word (pt: '
, es: '), the definition for Hispanic is different between Portugal and Spain. The
Royal Spanish Academy (Spanish: Real Academia Española, RAE), the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language defines the terms "'
" and "'" (which in Spain have slightly different meanings) as:
Hispano: • 1. A native of
Hispania [Roman region] • 2. Belonging or relating to
Hispania • 3. Spanish, as applied to a person • 4. Of or pertaining to
Hispanic America • 5. Of or pertaining to the population of Hispanic American origin who live in the United States of America • 6. A person of this origin who lives in the United States of America
Hispánico • 1. Belonging or relating to ancient
Hispania or the people inhabiting the region • 2. Belonging or relating to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries The modern term to identify Portuguese and Spanish territories under a single nomenclature is "Iberian", and the one to refer to cultures derived from both countries in the Americas is "Iberian-American". These designations can be mutually recognized by people in Portugal and
Brazil. "Hispanic" is totally void of any self-identification in Brazil, and quite to the contrary, serves the purpose of marking a clear distinction in relation to neighboring countries' culture. Brazilians may identify as Latin Americans, but refute being considered Hispanics because their language and culture are neither part of the Hispanic cultural sphere, nor Spanish-speaking world. In Spanish, the term "'
", as in "'", refers to the people of Spanish origin who live in the Americas and to a relationship to Spain or to the Spanish language. There are people in Hispanic America that are not of Spanish origin, such as Amerindians- the original people of these areas, as well as Africans and people with origins from other parts of Europe. Like in Portugal, in the rest of Europe (and wider world) the concept of 'Hispanic' refers to historical ancient Hispania (especially the term Hispano-Roman and Hispania during the Roman Empire) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries.
Definitions in the United States , 1940 photograph. Both
Hispanic and
Latino are widely used in American English for Spanish-speaking people and their descendants in the United States. While
Hispanic refers to Spanish speakers overall,
Latino refers specifically to people of
Latin American descent.
Hispanic can also be used for the people and culture of Spain as well as Latin America. While originally the term
Hispanic referred primarily to the
Hispanos of New Mexico within the
United States, today, organizations in the country use the term as a broad catchall to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship with Spain regardless of race and ethnicity. The United States Census Bureau uses
Hispanic or Latino to refer to
a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race and any ancestry. Because of the technical distinctions involved in defining "race" vs. "ethnicity", there is confusion among the general population about the designation of Hispanic identity. Currently, the United States Census Bureau defines six race categories: • White or Caucasian • Black or African American • American Indian or Alaska Native • Asian • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander • Some Other Race A 1997 notice by the U.S.
Office of Management and Budget defined
Hispanic or Latino persons as being "persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures." The
United States Census uses the
ethnonyms
Hispanic or Latino to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Hispanic culture or origin regardless of race." The
U.S. Department of Transportation defines
Hispanic as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race." The
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, proclaimed champions of Hispanic success in higher education, is committed to Hispanic educational success in the United States, and the Hispanic and Lusitanic world. The U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic. The
United States Department of Labor –
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs encourages the same self-identification. As a result, individuals with origins to part of the
Spanish Empire may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification. The
1970 census was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census. In a recent study, most Spanish speakers of Spanish or Hispanic American descent do not prefer the term
Hispanic or
Latino when it comes to describing their identity. Instead, they prefer to be identified by their country of origin. When asked if they have a preference for either being identified as
Hispanic or
Latino, the Pew study finds that "half (51%) say they have no preference for either term." Among those who do express a preference, "'Hispanic' is preferred over 'Latino' by more than a two-to-one margin—33% versus 14%." 21% prefer to be referred to simply as "Americans". A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family's country of origin, while 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label such as Hispanic or Latino. ==Culture==