What does ethnic mean?
Definitions for ethnic
ˈɛθ nɪketh·nic
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ethnic.
Princeton's WordNet
ethnicadjective
a person who is a member of an ethnic group
cultural, ethnic, ethnicaladjective
denoting or deriving from or distinctive of the ways of living built up by a group of people
"influenced by ethnic and cultural ties"- J.F.Kennedy; "ethnic food"
heathen, heathenish, pagan, ethnicadjective
not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam
GCIDE
Ethnicnoun
a member of an ethnic group.
Wiktionary
ethnicnoun
An ethnic person, notably said when a foreigner or member of an immigrant community
ethnicnoun
An ethnic minority
ethnicnoun
A heathen, a pagan
ethnicadjective
Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, national, religious or cultural origins.
There are many ethnic Indonesians in the Netherlands
ethnicadjective
Belonging to a foreign culture.
I like to eat ethnic food
ethnicadjective
Heathen, not Judeo-Christian.
Etymology: From ethnique, from ethnicus ("pagan", "heathen"), from ἐθνικός, from ἔθνος.
Wikipedia
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, race, language, history, society, nation, religion, or social treatment within their residing area. The term ethnicity is often times used interchangeably with the term nation, particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism. Ethnicity may be construed as an inherited or as a societally imposed construct. Ethnic membership tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language, dialect, religion, mythology, folklore, ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art, or physical appearance. Ethnic groups may share a narrow or broad spectrum of genetic ancestry, depending on group identification, with many groups having mixed genetic ancestry. Ethnic groups often continue to speak related languages. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, individuals or groups may over time shift from one ethnic group to another. Ethnic groups may be divided into subgroups or tribes, which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy or physical isolation from the parent group. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity. Whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis. Although both organic and performative criteria characterise ethnic groups, debate in the past had dichotomised between primordialism and constructivism. Earlier 20th-century "Primordialists" viewed ethnic groups as real phenomena whose distinct characteristics have endured since the distant past. Perspectives that developed after the 1960s increasingly viewed ethnic groups as social constructs, with identity assigned by societal rules.
ChatGPT
ethnic
Ethnic refers to relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) that shares a common culture, language, religion, or ancestry. It is often used to describe and categorize people who have shared socio-cultural experiences and background.
Webster Dictionary
Ethnicadjective
alt. of Ethnical
Ethnicnoun
a heathen; a pagan
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Ethnic
-al, eth′nik, -al, adj. concerning nations or races: pertaining to the heathen.—ns. Eth′nic, a heathen; Eth′nicism, heathenism; Ethnog′rapher.—adj. Ethnograph′ic.—n. Ethnog′raphy, the scientific description of the races of the earth.—adj. Ethnolog′ical.—adv. Ethnolog′ically.—ns. Ethnol′ogist; Ethnol′ogy, the science that treats of the varieties of the human race. [L.,—Gr. ethnos, a nation; Gr. graphē, writing, logia, discourse.]
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'ethnic' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3961
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'ethnic' in Adjectives Frequency: #533
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1515","29"],["1590","10"],["1607","2"],["1637","2"],["1675","1"],["1677","1"],["1708","1"],["1714","1"],["1727","1"],["1732","1"],["1736","3"],["1752","1"],["1754","2"],["1756","1"],["1757","1"],["1762","1"],["1765","6"],["1767","4"],["1770","1"],["1775","1"],["1776","2"],["1778","2"],["1782","8"],["1784","6"],["1787","9"],["1790","1"],["1791","4"],["1792","2"],["1793","1"],["1794","2"],["1796","1"],["1798","3"],["1799","1"],["1800","11"],["1801","17"],["1803","3"],["1804","3"],["1806","4"],["1807","1"],["1808","2"],["1809","17"],["1810","8"],["1812","5"],["1813","4"],["1814","2"],["1815","4"],["1816","12"],["1817","10"],["1818","1"],["1819","5"],["1820","10"],["1821","9"],["1822","4"],["1823","3"],["1824","9"],["1825","3"],["1826","21"],["1827","1"],["1828","19"],["1829","2"],["1830","31"],["1831","11"],["1832","38"],["1833","48"],["1834","27"],["1835","29"],["1836","5"],["1837","12"],["1838","9"],["1839","22"],["1840","6"],["1841","32"],["1842","6"],["1843","6"],["1844","61"],["1845","31"],["1846","36"],["1847","4"],["1848","12"],["1849","26"],["1850","19"],["1851","54"],["1852","22"],["1853","63"],["1854","76"],["1855","84"],["1856","23"],["1857","99"],["1858","143"],["1859","38"],["1860","140"],["1861","39"],["1862","239"],["1863","113"],["1864","158"],["1865","207"],["1866","133"],["1867","73"],["1868","187"],["1869","150"],["1870","136"],["1871","278"],["1872","142"],["1873","227"],["1874","386"],["1875","266"],["1876","224"],["1877","214"],["1878","392"],["1879","301"],["1880","742"],["1881","675"],["1882","322"],["1883","477"],["1884","524"],["1885","475"],["1886","578"],["1887","533"],["1888","319"],["1889","456"],["1890","872"],["1891","340"],["1892","696"],["1893","1672"],["1894","588"],["1895","528"],["1896","618"],["1897","2508"],["1898","675"],["1899","2932"],["1900","1116"],["1901","979"],["1902","2002"],["1903","718"],["1904","1547"],["1905","1401"],["1906","916"],["1907","821"],["1908","1201"],["1909","786"],["1910","1524"],["1911","2355"],["1912","1083"],["1913","1291"],["1914","1358"],["1915","1532"],["1916","2328"],["1917","895"],["1918","1221"],["1919","1072"],["1920","2577"],["1921","1587"],["1922","1378"],["1923","1480"],["1924","1232"],["1925","1511"],["1926","2305"],["1927","1597"],["1928","1253"],["1929","1414"],["1930","2025"],["1931","1763"],["1932","862"],["1933","967"],["1934","1618"],["1935","2700"],["1936","1609"],["1937","2785"],["1938","1528"],["1939","3061"],["1940","2282"],["1941","2277"],["1942","2246"],["1943","2275"],["1944","2127"],["1945","4857"],["1946","4704"],["1947","3910"],["1948","4782"],["1949","7651"],["1950","8414"],["1951","7304"],["1952","7576"],["1953","10168"],["1954","7874"],["1955","11440"],["1956","10861"],["1957","12089"],["1958","14145"],["1959","15065"],["1960","17697"],["1961","22111"],["1962","20775"],["1963","27536"],["1964","36744"],["1965","33586"],["1966","38689"],["1967","41438"],["1968","49714"],["1969","58070"],["1970","71426"],["1971","83681"],["1972","86868"],["1973","92020"],["1974","105202"],["1975","107637"],["1976","128063"],["1977","124376"],["1978","133645"],["1979","135133"],["1980","136816"],["1981","135225"],["1982","144406"],["1983","135277"],["1984","136811"],["1985","159907"],["1986","157792"],["1987","164690"],["1988","185266"],["1989","210565"],["1990","221305"],["1991","239206"],["1992","251777"],["1993","283168"],["1994","352086"],["1995","364700"],["1996","394993"],["1997","425813"],["1998","462029"],["1999","467163"],["2000","525181"],["2001","546824"],["2002","559849"],["2003","603549"],["2004","602534"],["2005","614691"],["2006","630565"],["2007","635326"],["2008","575185"]]
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of ethnic in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of ethnic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Examples of ethnic in a Sentence
That number is unacceptable to us. We want to make sure that all of our patients regardless of ethnic background are able to find The Match that they need, our mission is equal outcomes for all.
The CCP is currently committing genocide against ethnic and religious minorities in their country and are brutally cracking down on peaceful protesters in Hong Kong who are simply crying out for freedom, until they stop murdering and imprisoning their own people, I don’t believe anyone in the world should look to them for moral advice.
They are also 97 % white British, whereas about 15 % of people in the country are from an ethnic minority background. They are also mostly men.
This was supposed to be a peace rally. This was supposed to be about bringing Turkey together to show unity amongst the Turks and the Kurds and the other ethnic groups. This attack very much has now ripped that apart.
The data tells us of a devastating impact from Covid-19 on people of African descent, as well as ethnic minorities in some countries, including Brazil, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, in many other places, we expect similar patterns are occurring, but we are unable to say for sure given that data by race and ethnicity is simply not being collected or reported.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for ethnic
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- عرقيArabic
- езически, етническиBulgarian
- পৌত্তলিকBengali
- pagà, ètnicCatalan, Valencian
- etnickýCzech
- eksotisk, fremmed, hedning, etniskDanish
- ethnischGerman
- etnajEsperanto
- étnicoSpanish
- etninenFinnish
- ethniqueFrench
- eitneachIrish
- étnicoGalician
- etnikaiHungarian
- þjóðernis-Icelandic
- etnico, etnicaItalian
- אתניHebrew
- ជនជាតិKhmer
- ಜನಾಂಗೀಯKannada
- ethnicamLatin
- etnisksLatvian
- vreemd, etnisch, exotisch, vreemdelingDutch
- etniskNorwegian Nynorsk
- etniskNorwegian
- étnica, étnicoPortuguese
- этнической, этнический, языческийRussian
- etniskSwedish
- ชาติพันธุ์Thai
- etnikTurkish
- نسلیUrdu
- 民族Chinese
Get even more translations for ethnic »
Translation
Find a translation for the ethnic definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"ethnic." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 14 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ethnic>.
Discuss these ethnic definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In