The Morisco social phenomenon predates the term that names it

Evidence

It is at this point that many historians would place the beginning of the “Morisco” period, using that term in its narrower (morisco ) sense of “former Muslim who after conversion lived on under Christian rule.” As has just been pointed out above, in this sense the word as such was not yet in widespread use, but it is at this point in time that, avant la lettre, the phenomenon designated by the word came into existence. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 215

Categorization

• DEFINE: Narrows the term ‘morisco’ to mean a converted former Muslim living under Christian rule, as distinct from the broader ethnic label.