racialism

Meaning

Noun

• Tribalism, nationalism.
• The belief that humans can be categorized as belonging to distinct races, each race being characterized by fixed and heritable traits.
• Racism, belief in different races and that some are superior; policies or practices promoting the dominance of one or more races over others.

Origin

• racial + -ism. Coined in 1882 based on the older use of "race" as a synonym of "nation, tribe, ethnic group", later senses (from 1890) from the use of "race" for racial categories.