ethnicity

English

Etymology

ethnic +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛθˈnɪsɪti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsɪti

Noun

ethnicity (countable and uncountable, plural ethnicities)

1. The common characteristics of a group of people, especially regarding ancestry, culture, language or national experiences.
   • 2012 March-April, Jan Sapp, “Race Finished”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 164:

     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. An ethnic group.
3. (casual, euphemistic) Race; common ancestry.

Usage notes

In common use, ethnicity is used as a euphemism for the sensitive term race, 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 as Hispanic/Latino; or be a subgroup of a racial group, as in German Texan, Chinese Indonesians, Nuyorican (New York Puerto Rican), etc.

Derived terms

• meta-ethnicity

Related terms

• ethnic
• ethnical
• ethnically
• ethnology
• ethnos

 

Translations

the characteristics of an ethnic group

• Arabic: إِثْنِيَّة f (ʔiṯniyya)
• Armenian: էթնիկ պատկանելություն (ētʿnik patkanelutʿyun), ազգություն (hy) (azgutʿyun)
• Bashkir: милләт (millət)
• Belarusian: этні́чная прынале́жнасць f (etníčnaja prynaljéžnascʹ), нацыяна́льнасць (be) f (nacyjanálʹnascʹ), наро́днасць (be) f (naródnascʹ), этні́чнасць f (etníčnascʹ)
• Burmese: လူမျိုး (my) (lu-myui:)
• Catalan: ètnia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 種族／种族 (zung² zuk⁶), 民族 (yue) (man⁴ zuk⁶)

  Mandarin: 種族／种族 (zh) (zhǒngzú), 民族 (zh) (mínzú)

• Czech: etnicita f
• Danish: etnicitet c
• Esperanto: etneco
• Estonian: rahvuskuuluvus
• Finnish: kansallispiirre
• French: ethnicité (fr) f, appartenance ethnique f
• Georgian: ეროვნება (erovneba), ეთნიკური კუთვნილება (etniḳuri ḳutvnileba)
• German: Ethnizität (de) f, Volkszugehörigkeit f, ethnische Zugehörigkeit f
• Hebrew: לאום / לְאֹם (he) m (l'om), לאומיות / לְאֻמִּיּוּת (he) f (l'umiyút)
• Hindi: क़ौमियत f (qaumiyat), कौमियत (hi) f (kaumiyat), ज़ात (hi) f (zāt)
• Hungarian: etnikum (hu), etnicitás, származás (hu), etnikai hovatartozás
• Indonesian: kesukuan (id)
• Irish: eitneachas m
• Italian: etnicità f, etnia (it) f
• Japanese: 民族性 (みんぞくせい, minzokusei), 民族 (ja) (みんぞく, minzoku), エスニシティ (ja) (esunishiti)
• Khmer: ជាតិពន្ធភាព (ciət pŭən phiəp)
• Korean: 민족성(民族性) (ko) (minjokseong)
• Lao: ຊົນຊາດ (lo) (son sāt)
• Latvian: tautība f
• Lithuanian: tautybė f
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: ethnicité f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etnisitet (no) m

  Nynorsk: etnisitet m

• Persian:

  Dari: قَوْمِیَّت (fa) (qawmiyyat)

  Iranian Persian: قُوْمِیَّت (fa) (ğowmiyyat)

• Polish: narodowość (pl) f, etniczność f
• Portuguese: etnia (pt) f
• Romanian: etnicitate (ro) f
• Russian: этни́ческая принадле́жность f (etníčeskaja prinadléžnostʹ), национа́льность (ru) f (nacionálʹnostʹ), наро́дность (ru) f (naródnostʹ), этни́чность (ru) f (etníčnostʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ѐтнија f

  Roman: ètnija (sh) f

• Slovak: etnicita f
• Spanish: etnicidad (es) f
• Swedish: etnicitet (sv) c
• Thai: ชาติพันธุ์ (th) (châat-dtì-pan)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: etnik köken
• Ukrainian: етні́чна принале́жність f (etníčna prynaléžnistʹ), етні́чність f (etníčnistʹ), націона́льність (uk) f (nacionálʹnistʹ), наро́дність f (naródnistʹ)
• Urdu: قَومِیَت f (qaumiyat)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

an ethnic group

• Arabic: مَجْمُوعَة إِثْنِيَّة f (majmūʕa ʔiṯniyya)
• Armenian: ազգություն (hy) (azgutʿyun)
• Bashkir: милләт (millət)
• Belarusian: этні́чная гру́па f (etníčnaja hrúpa), нацыяна́льнасць (be) f (nacyjanálʹnascʹ), наро́днасць (be) f (naródnascʹ), э́тнас m (étnas)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 民族 (yue) (man⁴ zuk⁶)

  Mandarin: 民族 (zh) (mínzú)

• Danish: etnisk tilhørsforhold n
• Esperanto: etno
• Finnish: etnisyys (fi), kansallisuus (fi)
• French: ethnie (fr) f, groupe ethnique f
• Georgian: ეთნიკური ჯგუფი (etniḳuri ǯgupi)
• German: ethnische Gruppe f
• Hindi: क़ौम m (qaum), कौम (hi) m (kaum), ज़ात (hi) f (zāt)
• Hungarian: etnikum (hu), etnikai csoport
• Indonesian: etnis (id), suku bangsa (id)
• Irish: eitneacht f
• Japanese: 民族 (ja) (みんぞく, minzoku)
• Kazakh: ұлт (kk) (ūlt)
• Khmer: ក្រុមជនជាតិ (krom cɔɔn ciət)
• Korean: 민족(民族) (ko) (minjok)
• Lao: ເຊື້ອຊາດ (sư̄a sāt), ຊົນຊາດ (lo) (son sāt)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Nuosu: ꊿꋅ (co cux)
• Occitan: etnia (oc) f
• Persian:

  Dari: قَوْم (fa) (qawm)

  Iranian Persian: قُوْم (fa) (ğowm)

• Portuguese: etnia (pt)
• Romanian: grup etnic n, etnie (ro) f
• Russian: этни́ческая гру́ппа f (etníčeskaja grúppa), национа́льность (ru) f (nacionálʹnostʹ), э́тнос (ru) m (étnos), наро́дность (ru) f (naródnostʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: етницѝте̄т m, ѐтнија f

  Roman: etnicìtēt (sh) m, ètnija (sh) f

• Thai: เชื้อชาติ (th) (chʉ́ʉa-châat), กลุ่มชาติพันธุ์ (th) (glùm-châat-dtì-pan)
• Tibetan: རྒྱལ་ཁོངས (rgyal khongs)
• Ukrainian: етні́чна гру́па f (etníčna hrúpa), націона́льність (uk) f (nacionálʹnistʹ), наро́дність f (naródnistʹ), е́тнос m (étnos)
• Uyghur: مىللەتلەر (milletler)
• Vietnamese: dân tộc (vi) (民族 (vi))