Caucasian vs. White
Caucasian has two fairly distinct meanings, and the difference between them occasionally leads people to aver that one of them is incorrect. The earliest sense of the word is a literal one: “of or relating to the Caucasus (a region in southeastern Europe between the Black and Caspian seas) or its inhabitants.†The second refers to the racial group commonly referred to as white.
The objection to using Caucasian to refer to a white person is that many whites do not actually come from the Caucasus region. Be this as it may, there is no rule in language stipulating that the formation of a word must be based on logic; were this the case we would not call members of this racial group either Caucasian or white, since there are very few whose skin color is in fact that exact shade.
You are right, scientifically. I am right, in terms of common usage. If you are mugged and tell the Cops it was a group of caucasians who did it, they are not going to look for a group of Arabs, or Persians. They will be looking for White guys. That is the way the word is used in America, even though it is incorrect. Common usage vs. Scientific definition.
According to what I have read, the usage of caucasian to refer to White people, while ubiquitous in America, is scientifically incorrect. The term caucasian is much broader than only White people. This means that you are right and I am wrong. I am a victim of my culture. What can I say?
I apologize. Now I understand what you guys are talking about. I learned something new today.
First introduced in the 1780s by members of the Göttingen School of History, the term denoted one of three purported major races of humankind (Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid).
