ethno-, ethn- +

1. The science which deals with the races of humankind, their descent, relationships, etc.
2. The study of the human races, their origins, relationships, and characteristics; also called ethnics.
3. The anthropological study of ethnic groups (peoples and societies).
4. The comparison of specific features of different cultures in an attempt to establish similarities and disparities between them.

1. An obsessive devotion to one's own ethnic people or race.
2. Fanatical nationalism of a people or race.

An unreasonable or immoderate nationalist.

1. A reference to systems of medicine specific to certain ethnic groups.

1. Medical systems based on the cultural beliefs and practices of specific ethnic groups, including alternative bodies of theory and practice; such as, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional therapies handed down from generation to generation, and various mystical or magical practices.
2. The study of the beliefs and practices concerning illness in different human populations; it observes and describes hygienic, preventive, and healing practices; also taking into account temporal and spatial references.

Some universities are offering expeditions to such places as the Peruvian Amazon, Costa Rica, Belize, and other Caribbean areas that include "varied and intensive sessions in small groups led by experts in the fields of pharmacognosy, phytomedicine, ethnobotany, as well as ethnobiomedicine research".

They say that they are offering a chance for students to participate in research, "related to the continuing exploration of the rich, biological complexity of the tropics, and through this participation learn about a wide range of topics related to biodiversity studies, including ecology, systematics, conservation, ethnobiology, agriculture, health and biochemistry".

The main thrust of this research is concentrated on the wealth of biomedicines which are derived from plants, animals, and microbes which constitute the biodiversity of the tropical world.

Since ancient times, human beings have found remedies within their habitat, and have adopted different therapeutic strategies depending both upon climatic, pedological, phytogeographic, and faunal characteristics; as well as upon peculiar cultural and socio-structural typologies.

Every human population, in every time, has built specific views of the world through its own culture. From this model of the world, specific views of the body and of health and illness have resulted.

Their perceptions of the body, of anatomy, physiology, biology, of the position of human beings within the world, and of what is normal and what is pathological, have produced cultural frames that have been passed on as specific knowledge which is put into practice both in everyday life and in institutional circumstances.

1. The study of everyday communication; especially, of a particular ethnic or racial group.
2. A style of sociological analysis which seeks to expose and analyze the methods by which participants in a given social situation construct their commonsense knowledge of the world.

Someone who is a specialist in the study of traditional or folk music of a particular culture.

The study of the traditional or folk music of a particular culture; especially, one that is not part of the European classical genre, including sounds, songs, instruments, and associated ceremonies.

The study of fungi, both harmful and beneficial, in relation to human affairs.

It is said that this is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi (also known as, "fungi lore"), and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology.

Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes; such as, material that is easily combustible and can be used for lighting a fire, medicine, and food, including yeast; it is often used within the context of the study of psychoactive mushrooms.

1. A proper name by which a people or an ethnic group is known.
2. The name of an ethnic group, whether that name has been assigned by another group; such as, an exonym; or self-assigned; such as, an autonym.

At one time when ethnonyms were acceptable references, they could also become offensive, or become ethinic slurs. Examples of "unacceptable ethnonyms" include Gypsy for Roma; "Nigger", Negro, or colored for "black" people; and historical references: "vandal", "Bushman", "barbarian", and "Philistine".

1. The systematic study of the use of medicinal plants by specific cultural groups.
2. The study and use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms, and minerals; as well as, their biological and pharmacological applications.
3. A combination of the approaches of medical anthropology, phytotherapy, and pharmaceutical science, this discipline examines medicinal plants in indigenous cultures, their bioactive compounds, and the sustainable development and the production of nature-derived therapeutics.

Ethnopharmacologists are particularly concerned with local people’s rights to further use and develop their autochthonous (place of origin; indigenous, native) resources.

Today’s ethnopharmacological research embraces multidisciplinary efforts in the:

• documentation of indigenous medical knowledge.
• scientific study of indigenous medicines in order to contribute in the long-run to improved health care in the regions of the studies.
• search for pharmacologically unique principles from existing indigenous remedies.
• combinations of such diverse fields as anthropology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutical biology, natural product chemistry, toxicology, clinical research, and plant physiology.

1. The commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials (ethnobiological and ethnozoological); such as, plant substances or genetic cell lines, by a technologically advanced country or commercial organization without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered.
2. Bioprospecting is one form of ethnopiracy which includes the collecting and testing of biological samples (plants, animals, micro-organisms) and the collecting of indigenous knowledge to help in discovering and exploiting genetic or biochemical resources with the primarily economic purposes of producing new drugs, crops, industrial products, etc.

The study of the effects of culture on psychiatric disorders and their manifestations.

Also called comparative psychiatry and cross-cultural psychiatry.

1. The investigation of the psychology of races and peoples.
2. A branch of psychology that studies the influence of cultural and ethnic factors on behavior.

The most primitive natural or kindred group in a clan and tribal organization.