colored (adj.)

late 14c., "having a certain color, having a distinguishing hue," also (c. 1400) "having a certain complexion," past-participle adjective from color (v.). From 1610s as "having a dark or black color of the skin;" specifically, in U.S., "being wholly or partly of African descent," though, as Century Dictionary notes (1897) "In census-tables, etc., the term is often used to include Indians, Chinese, etc."