Where does “ethnicity” come from?
Ethnicity comes from English ethnic plus the French suffix -ité, derived from Latin -itas and Proto-Indo-European -it-, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἔθνος meaning nation or people.
ethnicity (English): The common characteristics of a group of people,...
Definitions
- The common characteristics of a group of people,...
Ancestry of “ethnicity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ethnic | Of or relating to a group of people having common... |
| 2 | French | ethnique | ethnic |
| 3 | Middle French | ethnique | — |
| 4 | Old French | ethnique | — |
| 5 | Latin | ethnicus | heathen; pagan |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἐθνικός | national |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἔθνος | group of people: tribe, family; group of animals:... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ἔθω | I am accustomed, I tend to |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | swe-dʰh₁- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |