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Synonyms for ethnic


Grammar : Adj
Spell : eth-nik
Phonetic Transcription : ˈɛθ nɪk



Définition of ethnic

Origin :
  • late 14c., Scottish, "heathen, pagan," and having that sense first in English; as an adj. from late 15c. from Latin ethnicus, Greek ethnikos, from ethnos "band of people living together, nation, people," properly "people of one's own kind," from PIE *swedh-no-, suffixed form of root *s(w)e- (see idiom).
  • In Septuagint, Greek ta ethne translates Hebrew goyim, plural of goy "nation," especially of non-Israelites, hence "Gentile nation" (see goy). Sense of "peculiar to a race or nation" is attested from 1851, a return to the word's original meaning; that of "different cultural groups" is 1935; and that of "racial, cultural or national minority group" is American English 1945; ethnic cleansing is attested from 1991.
  • Although the term 'ethnic cleansing' has come into English usage only recently, its verbal correlates in Czech, French, German, and Polish go back much further. [Jerry Z. Muller, "Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism," Foreign Affairs, March/April 2008]
  • adj racial, cultural
Example sentences :
  • All other declarations prior to this were but for dynasties, or were ethnic at most.
  • Extract from : « 'America for Americans!' » by John Philip Newman
  • It is a genuine instance of deterioration in ethnic religion.
  • Extract from : « Gloria Crucis » by J. H. Beibitz
  • It is only the validity of the ethnic explanation which we deny.
  • Extract from : « Introduction to the Science of Sociology » by Robert E. Park
  • How shall we solve this enigma of ethnic purity, and yet impurity, of type?
  • Extract from : « Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, January 1899 » by Various
  • The Archological Ages have not necessarily an ethnic significance.
  • Extract from : « Indian Myth and Legend » by Donald Alexander Mackenzie
  • Ethnic minorities often constitute a majority in a given region.
  • Extract from : « After the Rain » by Sam Vaknin
  • Ethnic cleansing has many faces, brutality is not its integrated feature.
  • Extract from : « After the Rain » by Sam Vaknin
  • Hungary was forced to risk its ethnic kinfolk in Serbia's Vojvodina region.
  • Extract from : « After the Rain » by Sam Vaknin
  • It constituted the main concern of the ethnic Macedonians (of Slav extract).
  • Extract from : « After the Rain » by Sam Vaknin
  • It remains for us to deal with the “ethnic groups” or sociological units.
  • Extract from : « The Races of Man » by Joseph Deniker

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019