Unable to distinguish between certain colors (a medical condition), or unable to see or acknowledge racial/ethnic differences (a social attitude).
Compound of 'color' (from Latin 'color') and 'blind' (from Old English 'blind'). The social meaning emerged in the 1960s civil rights era.
The phrase 'colorblind society' started as an ideal but has become controversial—critics argue that truly ignoring race means ignoring real discrimination and systemic inequality. It's a fascinating example of how a medical term got repurposed into social and political language with completely different implications!
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