English
ethnic
Ethnic comes from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ethnik1uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1611ethnic1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ethnic
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “..for the learned know that even in St. Jerome's…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English ethnic‘to do’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ethnikWiktionary, English ethnicuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1611ethnicWiktionary, English ethnic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “..for the learned know that even in St. Jerome's…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, defence, custom, theme, treasury, treasure, sufficient, defendant, feast, doom, thesis, deed, dis, theology, auditorium, tick, auditor, aesthetic, ethical, atheist, synthetic, demi, deem, spade, forfeit, feral, atheism, familial, medial, medallion, 128 more
Today it means
adj Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, ancestral, national, religious or cultural origins.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ethnic”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / ethnic