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Ethnic vs Folk - What's the difference?

ethnic | folk |

In archaic terms the difference between ethnic and folk

is that ethnic is a heathen, a pagan while folk is a grouping of smaller peoples or tribes as a nation.

As adjectives the difference between ethnic and folk

is that ethnic is of or relating to a group of people having common racial, national, religious or cultural origins while folk is of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land, their culture, tradition, or history.

As nouns the difference between ethnic and folk

is that ethnic is an ethnic person, notably said when a foreigner or member of an immigrant community while folk is a grouping of smaller peoples or tribes as a nation.

ethnic

English

Alternative forms

* ethnick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of or relating to a group of people having common racial, national, religious or cultural origins.
  • There are many ethnic Indonesians in the Netherlands
  • Belonging to a foreign culture.
  • I like to eat ethnic food
  • (historical) Heathen, not Judeo-Christian-Muslim.
  • Derived terms

    * antiethnic * ethnic cleansing * ethnic group * ethnic minority

    Synonyms

    * (culturally foreign) exotic * (heathen) pagan, gentile

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An ethnic person, notably said when a foreigner or member of an immigrant community.
  • An ethnic minority. (rfex)
  • (archaic) A heathen, a pagan.
  • *
  • ..for the learned know that even in St. Jerome's time, the consul of Rome and his wife were both Ethnics , and about the same time the greatest part of the senate also...
  • * 1641 . .
  • ...And the people of God, redeemed and washed with Christ's blood, and dignified with so many glorious titles of saints and sons in the Gospel, are now no better reputed than impure ethnics and lay dogs...
  • (in classical scholarship ) the demonym of an Ancient Greek city
  • * 2006 . Cohen. The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin & North Africa , 151.
  • "Coinage with the ethnic ????????? ???? ???????? survives from the mid-second century A.D."

    folk

    English

    Alternative forms

    * voke, volk, volke (dialectal)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a land, their culture, tradition, or history.
  • Of or pertaining to common people as opposed to ruling classes or elites.
  • (architecture) Of or related to local building materials and styles.
  • Believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically correct or rigorous.
  • folk''' psychology; '''folk linguistics

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (archaic) A grouping of smaller peoples or tribes as a nation.
  • * J. R. Green
  • The organization of each folk , as such, sprang mainly from war.
  • The inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
  • *1907 , Race Prejudice , Jean Finot, p. 251:
  • *:We thus arrive at a most unexpected imbroglio. The French have become a Germanic folk' and the Germanic ' folk have become Gaulish!
  • One’s relatives, especially one’s parents.
  • (music) Folk music.
  • (plural only) People in general.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes
  • (plural only) A particular group of people.
  • Derived terms

    * folk devil * folk etymology * folk hero * folklore * folk medicine * folk memory * folk music * folkster * folksy

    References

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