ethnography
noun
eth·nog·ra·phy eth-ˈnä-grə-fē 
: the study and systematic recording of human cultures
also : a descriptive work produced from such research
ethnographer
eth-ˈnä-grə-fər
noun ethnographic
ˌeth-nə-ˈgra-fik
adjective or ethnographical
ˌeth-nə-ˈgra-fi-kəl
ethnographically
ˌeth-nə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web My mind went searching unbidden into deep recesses of memory where countless displays of Native American ethnography, seen over years, are stored. 
Murray Whyte, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2022 It is accompanied by a book of probing essays about the role of ethnography and colonialism in shaping how people of African descent were represented in France during the 19th century. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 14 May 2022 Netography, or virtual ethnography, uses this methodology of social studies to understand how people interact with their communities on social networks. Paul Herrera, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2022 This sort of case study belongs to the larger French practice of proximate ethnography, which developed in the nineteen-eighties, when mass tourism had made the world feel smaller and faraway lands less exotic. Lili Owen Rowlands, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2021 Wise and prudent leaders really might spare us a great deal of trouble. —Mr. Kuper, a specialist on the ethnography of Southern Africa, has written widely on the history of anthropology. Adam Kuper, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2021 Consumer behavior even encompasses anthropology and ethnography (the study of people and culture in their social habitat). Prince Ghuman, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2021 KitchenTown carries out design research, consumer insights and ethnography, and new product concept ideation for start-ups, and gives them access to a product development lab in exchange for a monthly fee. Brian Kateman, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2021 Romero and Medina, a gifted maitre d’, riff joyously across five courses (omnivore or vegetarian), that challenge preconceived notions around colonialism, history and the complex ethnography of Mexican cuisine. Jordan Michelman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2021 See More
Murray Whyte, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2022 It is accompanied by a book of probing essays about the role of ethnography and colonialism in shaping how people of African descent were represented in France during the 19th century. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 14 May 2022 Netography, or virtual ethnography, uses this methodology of social studies to understand how people interact with their communities on social networks. Paul Herrera, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2022 This sort of case study belongs to the larger French practice of proximate ethnography, which developed in the nineteen-eighties, when mass tourism had made the world feel smaller and faraway lands less exotic. Lili Owen Rowlands, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2021 Wise and prudent leaders really might spare us a great deal of trouble. —Mr. Kuper, a specialist on the ethnography of Southern Africa, has written widely on the history of anthropology. Adam Kuper, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2021 Consumer behavior even encompasses anthropology and ethnography (the study of people and culture in their social habitat). Prince Ghuman, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2021 KitchenTown carries out design research, consumer insights and ethnography, and new product concept ideation for start-ups, and gives them access to a product development lab in exchange for a monthly fee. Brian Kateman, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2021 Romero and Medina, a gifted maitre d’, riff joyously across five courses (omnivore or vegetarian), that challenge preconceived notions around colonialism, history and the complex ethnography of Mexican cuisine. Jordan Michelman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
French ethnographie, from ethno- + -graphie -graphy
First Known Use
1811, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
ethnography
noun
eth·nog·ra·phy eth-ˈnäg-rə-fē
plural ethnographies
: the study and systematic recording of human cultures
also : a descriptive work produced from such research