multiculturalism

Etymology

It is formed from English multicultural + -ism.^[2][3][4] The OED compares the earlier biculturalism and the later monoculturalism.^[2] Multicultural, recorded from 1935, is formed from multi- and cultural.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The characteristics of a multicultural society, or the policy of keeping the separate identities of its cultural groups: 1957, in the journal Hispania.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1965 and Dictionary.com to 1960–65.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective multicultural was at first often used of Canada, was taken up by American writers on education in the 1980s, and became widespread around 1990.^[3] The noun covers both the state of a society with many cultures and the policy of keeping them distinct within one community.^[5][2]

Timeline

• 1935 – the adjective multicultural.^[2]
• 1957 – the state or policy of a multicultural society.^[2] Etymonline dates the noun to 1965.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The state or condition of being multicultural: the multiculturalism of the port city.^[5][6]
2. The policy of keeping a diversity of ethnic cultures within one society, accepting each without discrimination.^[5][7][2]

Related words

• multicultural
• culture
• biculturalism

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ The World Book Dictionary (2015), Chicago: World Book
7. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers