/ ˈeθnɪk; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
connected with or belonging to a nation, race or people that shares a cultural tradition :
ethnic groups / communities
ethnic strife / tensions / violence (= between people from different races or peoples)
ethnic Albanians living in Germany
2.
typical of a country or culture that is very different from modern Western culture and therefore interesting for people in Western countries :
ethnic clothes / jewellery / cooking
► eth·nic·al·ly / -kli; NAmE / adverb :
an ethnically divided region
■ noun
( especially NAmE ) a person from an ethnic minority
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (denoting a person not of the Christian or Jewish faith): via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek ethnikos heathen, from ethnos nation. Current senses date from the 19th cent.