The terms “ethnicity” and “nationality” are often used interchangeably, when in reality they have two different meanings. The root word of ethnicity – ethnic – comes from the Greek adjective ethnikos, loaned into the Latin language as ethnicus. Historically, it was used to refer to disparate nations outside of the Christian sphere of Europe between the 15th and 17th centuries. Classical Greek used the term with a meaning comparable to the concept of a nation of people.
Around 480 BC, the Greeks developed their own concept of their own “ethnicity”, and Herodotus, a writer and historian, gave his account of what defined Greek ethnic identity:
- A shared descent
- A shared language
- Shared sanctuaries and sacrifices
- Shared customs
Primarily, the descent factor is what most people today use to primarily determine ethnicity, although customs are also a notable factor. For example, a boy could be born in Ethiopia, later move to Toronto at age 2, and be raised there into adulthood. His ethnicity would be stated as Ethiopian. Now, if his parents lived in Ethiopia, moved to Toronto, and then bore him, he would also be considered to be of Ethiopian ethnicity via his parent’s genetics, and also the cultural and traditional practices his parents would likely surround him with throughout childhood.
According to Merriam-Webster, nationality is defined as a person’s character (pertaining to their traditional practices and behaviors), holding a national status – defined as “a legal relationship involving allegiance on the part of an individual and usually protection on the part of the state”, and also having a membership in a particular nation. Now one does not necessarily have to be of the traditions, customs, and genetic makeup of the country they are in to hold such a “membership”. Returning to the prior given example, the boy and his parents are considered to be of Ethiopian ethnicity, but because they are physically residing in Canada, they are recognized as Canadians. If they stayed in Ethiopia, they’d be considered to be of Ethiopian ethnicity and nationality. Their ethnicity could also be Amharaic, as sometimes a single country can also have subdivisions of ethnic groups.
Hence, it is safe to say that name-wise, a person’s ethnicity and nationality can be the same or different, whilst still physically being in the same location. Note that a person’s primary connections (culture, traditions, fashion styles, religion, etc.) can either stay with that of their genetic ethnicity, or completely change to be of their current nationality, depending on the degree of strength of environmental influences.
So remember: if you ask where someone is from, note that your question can go two ways – either to their ethnicity or their nationality.