Offer a definition of race, ethnicty, tribe, clan, etc?

Question

What precisely are these terms

Answer 1

All of these terms are similar and generally refer to different degrees of relatedness among humans.

Ethnicity is the most general, then race, tribe and lastly clan.

Ethnicity is a very broad term:

"Identity with or membership in a particular racial, national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and language." (dictionary.com)

-ethnicity does not require actual genetic relatedness although it is often part of the package.

Race is much more specific:

"an arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, esp. formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood groups."  

"a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans."  (dictionary.com)

-race does require actual genetic relatedness and similarity although distant and general.

The last two involve specific common ancestors not just shared traits.

Tribe:

"any aggregate of people united by ties of descent from a common ancestor, community of customs and traditions, adherence to the same leaders, etc." (dictionary.com)

-sounds similar to ethnicity but requires all of the above rather than one of the above, usually refers to a smaller population and typically members have a much closer genetic relationship than just by general race.

Clan:

"the principal social unit of tribal organization, in which descent is reckoned exclusively in either the paternal or the maternal line." (dictionary.com)

-basically clans are the different family lines within a tribe.

Answer 2

Race deals with your actual physical color, such as black, white, asian.

Ethnicity deals with your culture and your upbringing. Not all black people are african- americans. That's there ethnicity. A Chinese girl can be raised in South America, and her race would be asian, but she might not identify with her asian background as much as she would her souht american one.

Tribe is a group of people bound together for a common purpose, wether it be to survive, search for food...etc.

A clan, to me, is more of a close knit group than a tribe. Maybe like a large family.

*Although most of these are the correct definition, it also has my personal opinion in them.

Answer 3

Race refers to a social construction that refers to a person's physical appearances.  That they should belong to one cultural group based on these appearances.

Ethnicity is someone's cultural heritage.

Tribe is an Indigenous group of people who share the same cultural heritage.  Often tribes are part of a larger whole.

Clan is a smaller component of a tribe.  Within a tribe there can be several clans.  One reason clans are created is to keep incest from occurring, people know which clans it is "safe" to marry into so they aren't marrying family.

Answer 4

race is the lineage of your group, people as in asian, european white , african black. all others are blends & sub-groups. ethnicity is the focal point of where you are or originate such as indians from india or indians born & raised in america (and have never stepped foot in calcutta or alsewhere on the sub-continent).  they are of a group that share racial backgrounds, perhaps food prep, maybe some customs but their background & heritage goes only as far as their immediate familial group.  tribes & clans are families and outcrop of families.  a clan shares patrialinial & matrilinial lines but tribes are the extentions of these lines extended by marriage, business, sometimes blood.  you look for an exact meaning? did you try the dictionary. when all else fails, use the source. wouldn't have these words in motions w/o the dictionary, right? also, are we doing someone's homework? if so, give us credit, sport!

Answer 5

Race is a broad term which basically is Caucasian, ******* or Oriental.

Ethnic breaks it down into groups, such as Spanish, German,

Japanese, Chinese.

Tribe is sort of like a city within an ethnic group.  It is like a group of American Indians who are Apache, but have a chief who is the head of their group.

A clan has a couple of meanings.  It can indicate a group of people who are related or it can mean a small tribe.

Answer 6

Race

1. A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.

2. A population of organisms differing from others of the same species in the frequency of hereditary traits; a subspecies.

Ethnicity

An ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties; "ethnicity has a strong influence on community status relations"

Tribe  

1. A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.

2. A political, ethnic, or ancestral division of ancient states and cultures, especially:

a. Any of the three divisions of the ancient Romans, namely, the Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan.

b. Any of the 12 divisions of ancient Israel.

c. A phyle of ancient Greece.

3. A group of people sharing an occupation, interest, or habit: a tribe of graduate students.

Clan  

1. A traditional social unit in the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor and following the same hereditary chieftain.

2. A division of a tribe tracing descent from a common ancestor.

3. A large group of relatives, friends, or associates.