# ethnic

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈɛθ.nɪk/ · frequency rank #4,082

## Definitions
1. Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, ancestral, national, religious or cultural origins.
2. Characteristic of a foreign or a minority group's culture.
3. Representative of a folk or traditional mode of expression.
4. Heathen, not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **ethic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ethic-vs-ethnic)
- **ethics** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ethics-vs-ethnic)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ehtnic`, `ethhnic`, `ethinc`, `ethnci`, `ethnicc`, `ethnnic`, `etnhic`, `etthnic`, `tehnic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ethnic