multi-ethnicadj.
/ˌmʌltɪˈɛθnɪk/, U.S. /ˌməltiˈɛθnɪk/; see also multi- comb. form. 1. Composed of or involving several ethnic groups.
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the world > people > ethnicities > [adjective]
heathenic1554
savage1559
heathnical1583
ethnical1818
ethnic1841
multi-ethnic1941
mono-ethnic1968
1941 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 218 52/1 The Soviet Union..has attempted to form a multi-ethnic nation on the basis of a particular economic and social creed.
1967 in A. Chapman New Black Voices (1972) 569 We Afro-Americans..are not opposed to multi-ethnic associations in any walk of life.
1969 Alberta Hist. Rev. Autumn 10/2 Both were born in remote wilderness conditions and embraced multi-ethnic populations.
1991 Time 8 July 21/1 The U.S. escaped the divisiveness of a multiethnic society by a brilliant solution: the creation of a brand-new national identity.
1995 Melody Maker 25 Mar. 28/2 I grew up in Handsworth, and it's quite a multi-ethnic city.
2. Of a person: having parents or ancestors of different ethnic backgrounds.
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1972 J. J. McDermott in Soundings 55 14 For decades we have taught multi-racial, multi-ethnic children in the context of a bland, WASPish world.
2001 Newsweek (Nexis) 18 June (Society section) 48 Woods, whose father is black and whose mother is Thai, has taken a lot of heat in the African-American community for identifying himself as multi-ethnic rather than black.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1941