Noun

(minorities)

The state of being a minor; youth, the period of a person's life prior to reaching adulthood.

* 2011 , (Norman Davies), Vanished Kingdoms , Penguin 2012, p. 117:

She also played a key role as dowager-regent during the minority of her son.

Any subgroup that does not form a numerical majority.

Most people agreed, but a sizable minority were upset by the decision.

Empowered by or representing a minority (usually a plurality) of votes cast, legislative seats, etc., rather than an outright majority thereof.

(US) A member of an ethnic minority.

The company claims it has hired several minorities since the complaint was lodged.

Noun

(ethnicities)

The common characteristics of a group of people.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April

, author=(Jan Sapp) , title=Race Finished , volume=100, issue=2, page=164 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity , genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept?}}

An ethnic group.