ethnicity

American  

[eth-nis-i-tee] / ɛθˈnɪs ɪ ti /

noun

plural

ethnicities

1. an ethnic group; a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.

   Representatives of several ethnicities were present.

2. ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association.

   The graph shows class enrollment by gender and ethnicity.

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ethnicity Cultural  

1. Identity with or membership in a particular racial, national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and language.

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Usage

race ²

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Many minority groups in the United States maintain strong ethnic identity; especially in cities, immigrants are often attracted to ethnic communities established by people from their own country, communities in which many traditional cultural features are maintained. (See melting pot.)

Etymology

Origin of ethnicity

First recorded in 1765–75, for earlier sense; ethnic + -ity

Example Sentences

The study population included participants from several race and ethnicity groups.

From Science Daily

The rest, most of whom are residents of large cities such as Tehran, are mixed with other ethnicities and assimilated into mainstream Iranian culture.

From The Wall Street Journal

Race, ethnicity and religion would no longer drive world politics.

From The Wall Street Journal

Research by the government into 16 and 17-year-old Neets found they were more likely to be white than have another ethnicity.

From BBC

The law also outlaws discrimination based on ethnicity and designates an important Kurdish holiday, Nowruz, as a national holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal