I. ethnic noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin ethnicus, from Greek ethnikos, adjective
obsolete : heathen , pagan
impure ethnics — John Milton
II. eth·nic ˈethnik, -nēk adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin ethnicus, from Greek ethnikos foreign, gentile, national, from ethnos nation + -ikos -ic — more at ethnos
1. : of or relating to the Gentiles or to nations not converted to Christianity : heathen , pagan
ancient ethnic revels of a faith long since forsaken — H.W.Longfellow
2.
a. : relating to community of physical and mental traits possessed by the members of a group as a product of their common heredity and cultural tradition
influenced by ethnic and cultural ties — J.F.Kennedy
the boundaries along the West African coast were not plotted with regard to the ancient ethnic frontiers — A.H.Young-O'Brien
b. : having or originating from racial, linguistic, and cultural ties with a specific group
Negroes, Irish, Italians, Germans, Poles, and other ethnic groups — F.J.Brown & J.S.Roucek
displaced persons, 653 of them ethnic Germans — New York Herald Tribune
3. : originating in an exotic primitive culture
ethnic music
III. ethnic noun
( -s )
Etymology: Greek ethnikon, neuter of ethnikos national
: ethnicon
IV. ethnic noun
: a member of an ethnic group ; especially : a member of a minority group who retains the customs, language, or social views of his group