ethnic

E1T1H4N1I1C3
/ˈɛθ.nɪk/

adjective

Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, ancestral, national, religious or cultural origins.

“I like to eat ethnic food”

CommonScrabble 11

Meanings

adjectiveethnic (comparative more ethnic, superlative most ethnic)

comparative more ethnic · superlative most ethnic · alternative obsolete ethnick

  1. 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.

    2015 February 3, Greg Botelho, “U.N. court: Serbs’ actions in Croatia not considered genocide”, in CNN, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2021
    1 more example

    Studies also show that absentee ballots cast by voters who are younger or from racial and ethnic minority groups are rejected at higher rates than other absentee ballots.

    2020 September 14, Richard H. Pildes, “The three words that can avert an election nightmare”, in CNN, archived from the original on 19 Oct 2022
  2. Characteristic of a foreign or a minority group's culture.

    I like to eat ethnic food

    Synonyms: exotic

  3. Representative of a folk or traditional mode of expression.

    Indeed, such ethnic music festivals were probably common throughout the country

    2008, Ronald D. Cohen, A History of Folk Music Festivals in the United States
    3 more examples

    contemporary artists are victims of the dichotomization of fine art and folk or ethnic art, where the latter must evince standardized techniques of simplicity, naivete, naturalism, and exoticism.

    1990, European Review of Native American Studies Volumess 4-6

    popular music is usually positioned between classical music on the one hand and folk or ethnic music on the other.

    2012, Michael Campbell., Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On

    Once you dig below the surface you discover folk, grassroots, and ethnic music throughout the United States

    2012, Kip Lornell., Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions
  4. historicalHeathen, not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.

    Synonyms: pagan, gentile

nounethnic (plural ethnics)

plural ethnics · alternative obsolete ethnick

  1. An ethnic person, especially a foreigner or member of an immigrant community.
  2. archaicA 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...

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Preface
    1 more example

    ...And the people of God, redeemed and washed with Christ's blood, and dignified with so many glorious titles of saints and sons in the Gospel, are now no better reputed than impure ethnics and lay dogs...

    1641, John Milton, Of Reformation in England
  3. The demonym of an Ancient Greek city.

    Coinage with the ethnic ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΕΥΦΡΑΤΗΝ survives from the mid-second century A.D.

    2006. Cohen. The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin & North Africa, 151

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveCharacteristic of a foreign or a minority group's culture.

Similar

adjectiveHeathen, not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivedenoting or deriving from or distinctive of the ways of living built up by a group of people

adjectivenot acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*swe-dʰh₁-
  4. Proto-Hellenic*séswōtʰa
  5. Ancient Greekἔθω (éthō)
  6. Ancient Greekἔθνος (éthnos)
  7. Ancient Greekἐθνικός (ethnikós)
  8. Latinethnicus
  9. Middle Englishethnik
  10. Englishethnic

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.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans etnies
  • etniesof or relating to a group of people
Arabic عِرْقِيّ
  • عِرْقِيّ (ʕirqiyy)of or relating to a group of people
Bengali পৌত্তলিক
  • পৌত্তলিক (pōuttolik)heathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
Bulgarian етни́чески, наро́дностен
  • етни́чески (etníčeski)of or relating to a group of people
  • наро́дностен (naródnosten)of or relating to a group of people
  • ези́чески (ezíčeski)heathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
Catalan ètnic, ètnic
  • ètnicof or relating to a group of people
  • ètnicheathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
  • pagàheathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
Chinese Mandarin 民族
  • 民族 (mínzú)of or relating to a group of people
Czech etnický
  • etnickýof or relating to a group of people
Danish etnisk, etnisk
  • etniskof or relating to a group of people
  • etniskbelonging to a foreign culture
  • eksotiskbelonging to a foreign culture
  • fremmedbelonging to a foreign culture
  • hedningheathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
Dutch etnisch, etnisch
  • etnischof or relating to a group of people
  • etnischbelonging to a foreign culture
  • exotischbelonging to a foreign culture
  • vreemdbelonging to a foreign culture
  • vreemdelingethnic person, notably when foreigner or immigrant
  • (etnische) minderheid (sgroep)ethnic minority
Esperanto etna
  • etnaof or relating to a group of people
Estonian etniline
  • etnilineof or relating to a group of people
Finnish etninen, etninen
  • etninenof or relating to a group of people
  • etninenbelonging to a foreign culture
  • pakanallinenheathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
French ethnique
  • ethniqueof or relating to a group of people
German ethnisch, exotisch
  • ethnischof or relating to a group of people
  • exotischbelonging to a foreign culture
  • ausländischbelonging to a foreign culture
  • internationalbelonging to a foreign culture
  • Fremderethnic person, notably when foreigner or immigrant
  • Ausländerethnic person, notably when foreigner or immigrant
Greek εθνικός
  • εθνικός (ethnikós)of or relating to a group of people
Hebrew אֶתְנִי
  • אֶתְנִי (etni)of or relating to a group of people
Hindi संजातीय, नस्ली
  • संजातीय (sañjātīya)of or relating to a group of people
  • नस्ली (naslī)of or relating to a group of people
Hungarian etnikai
  • etnikaiof or relating to a group of people
Icelandic þjóðernis-
  • þjóðernis-of or relating to a group of people
Indonesian etnis, etnik
  • etnisof or relating to a group of people
  • etnikof or relating to a group of people
Irish eitneach
  • eitneachof or relating to a group of people
Italian etnico, etnico
  • etnicoof or relating to a group of people
  • etnicobelonging to a foreign culture
Japanese 民族の
  • 民族の (minzoku no)of or relating to a group of people
Korean 민족(民族)의, 이국(異國)의
  • 민족(民族)의 (minjog-ui)of or relating to a group of people
  • 이국(異國)의 (igug-ui)belonging to a foreign culture
  • 이국적(異國的)이다 (igukjeog-ida)belonging to a foreign culture
Latvian etnisks
  • etnisksof or relating to a group of people
Lithuanian etninis
  • etninisof or relating to a group of people
Malay etnik
  • etnikof or relating to a group of people
Norwegian Bokmål etnisk
  • etniskof or relating to a group of people
Polish etniczny
  • etnicznyof or relating to a group of people
Portuguese étnico
  • étnicoof or relating to a group of people
Romanian etnic
  • etnicof or relating to a group of people
Russian этни́ческий, национа́льный
  • этни́ческий (etníčeskij)of or relating to a group of people
  • национа́льный (nacionálʹnyj)of or relating to a group of people
  • язы́ческий (jazýčeskij)heathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim
Slovak etnický
  • etnickýof or relating to a group of people
Spanish étnico
  • étnicoof or relating to a group of people
Swedish etnisk, etnisk
  • etniskof or relating to a group of people
  • etniskbelonging to a foreign culture
Tagalog etniko
  • etnikoof or relating to a group of people
Thai ชาติพันธุ์
  • ชาติพันธุ์ (châat-dtì-pan)of or relating to a group of people
Turkish etnik
  • etnikof or relating to a group of people
Ukrainian етні́чний
  • етні́чний (etníčnyj)of or relating to a group of people
Urdu نَسْلی
  • نَسْلی (naslī)of or relating to a group of people
Vietnamese dân tộc
  • dân tộcof or relating to a group of people

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ethnic

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

ethnic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethnic

MLA

“ethnic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethnic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ethnic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethnic.

Source: ethnic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.