Jump to content

ethnicity

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Fromethnic+‎-ity.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key):/ɛθˈnɪsɪti/
  • Audio(US):(file)
  • Rhymes:-ɪsɪti

Noun

[edit]

ethnicity(countableanduncountable,pluralethnicities)

  1. The common characteristics of a group of people, especially regardingancestry,culture,languageor national experiences.
    • 2012March-April,Jan Sapp,“Race Finished”, inAmerican Scientist‎[1],volume100,number 2, page164:
      Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture,ethnicity,genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept?
  2. Anethnic group.
  3. (casual,euphemistic)Race;common ancestry.

Usage notes

[edit]

In common use,ethnicityis used as a euphemism for the sensitive termrace,but with identical meaning: group ancestry and physical characteristics, such as skin color, as in “ethnic Chinese”. In careful use, it refers to any common characteristic or identity, particularly linguistic, national, regional, or religious groups, and can cut across race, such asHispanic/Latino;or be a subgroup of a racial group, as inGerman Texan,Chinese Indonesians,Nuyorican(New York Puerto Rican), etc.

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

Translations

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=ethnicity&oldid=82953858"