from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Melungeon \Me*lun"geon\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]langer to mix,
m['e]lange a mixture.]
One of a mixed white and Indian people living in parts of
Tennessee and the Carolinas. They are descendants of early
intermixtures of white settlers with natives. In North
Carolina the
{Croatan Indians}, regarded as descended from Raleigh's lost
colony of Croatan, formerly classed with negroes, are now
legally recognized as distinct.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]