[Craig]

Language is history whether we like it or not. This particular word goes back to Latin, long before black/white racial connotations. Yes, one meaning is ‘to blacken’ but you show a good education in even knowing that. I think very many people would consider ‘de’ a prefix and think that the root meaning might be ‘to make less black’. Many dictionaries will simply define it as ‘to slander’ and that is the vast majority of the usage, both on the street and in the scholarly journals. If you take offense at the etymology of words then any language is full of slurs against everyone. Sinister and whitewash come immediately to mind. But it is so much better to sit down to a meal of blackened whitefish and not get tied up racial connotations that are more puns than meaning. PS I may be Caucasian but I know little to nothing about the Caucus mountains and certainly did not come from there.

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Name : Craig, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Somewhere in, State : MO, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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