ethnic
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ethnic
- /ˈɛθ.nɪk/
Rhymes with -ɛθnɪk
Where it comes from
From Middle English ethnik, from Latin ethnicus ("pagan", "heathen"), from Ancient Greek ἐθνικός (ethnikós, “of or for a nation, heathen”), from ἔθνος (éthnos, “a company", later "a people or nation, heathens”). By surface analysis, ethno- + -ic.
adjective more ethnic · most ethnic · ethnick
- Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, ancestral, national, religious or cultural origins. The violence began when Serbian troops went into Croatia ostensibly to aid armed ethnic Serbians trying to create their own autonomous states there.
-
Characteristic of a foreign or a minority group's culture.
I like to eat ethnic food
Similar: exotic
- Representative of a folk or traditional mode of expression. Indeed, such ethnic music festivals were probably common throughout the country
- Heathen, not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.
noun ethnics · ethnick
- An ethnic person, especially a foreigner or member of an immigrant community.
- A heathen, a pagan. ..for the learned know that even in St. Jerome's time, the consul of Rome and his wife were both Ethnics, and about the same time the greatest part of the senate also...
- The demonym of an Ancient Greek city. Coinage with the ethnic ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΕΥΦΡΑΤΗΝ survives from the mid-second century A.D.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: cultural, ethnical, social, ethnicity, racial, racially, multiethnic, multiracial, nationality, multi-ethnic, ethnically, racism, nation, tribe, racist, national
Translations
Every language
adj of or relating to a group of people
| Español | étnico |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 민족(民族)의 minjog-ui |
| 日本語 | 民族の minzoku no |
| 中文 | 民族 mínzú |
| हिन्दी | संजातीय sañjātīya, नस्ली naslī |
| Português | étnico |
| Français | ethnique |
| Deutsch | ethnisch |
| Italiano | etnico |
| Ελληνικά | εθνικός ethnikós |
| Română | etnic |
| Русский | этни́ческий etníčeskij, национа́льный nacionálʹnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | dân tộc |
| العربية | عِرْقِيّ ʕirqiyy |
| עברית | אֶתְנִי etni |
adj belonging to a foreign culture
| 한국어 | 이국(異國)의 igug-ui, 이국적(異國的)이다 igukjeog-ida |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | exotisch, ausländisch, international |
| Italiano | etnico |
adj heathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
| Русский | язы́ческий jazýčeskij |
|---|
Talk about this word "ethnic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ethnic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ethnic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ethnic "ethnic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ethnic.Cite this
@misc{ethnic_2026,
title = {ethnic},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ethnic},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
