Standard Lemma guide

ethnography

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ɛθˈnɑɡɹəfi/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɛθˈnɒɡɹəfi/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒɡɹəfi

1

noun

Meaning 1

The branch of anthropology that scientifically describes specific human cultures and societies.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: anthropology, human-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: descriptive anthropology

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An ethnographic work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the branch of anthropology that provides scientific description of individual human societies

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: descriptive anthropology

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: anthropology

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἔθνος (éthnos)der. English ethno- Proto-Indo-European *gerbh- Proto-Hellenic *grə́phō Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ) Ancient Greek -γραφίᾱ (-graphíā)bor. French -graphieder. English -graphy English ethnography From ethno- + -graphy.

Across languages

Translations

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: etnografie — branch of anthropology
  • Arabic: عِلْم الإِنْسََان التَطْبِيقِيّ (ʕilm al-ʔinsaān at-taṭbīqiyy) — branch of anthropology
  • Arabic: إِثْنُوغْرَافِيَّا (ʔiṯnūḡrāfiyyā) — branch of anthropology
  • Armenian: ազգագրություն (azgagrutʻyun) — branch of anthropology
  • Armenian: էթնոգրաֆիա (ētʻnografia) — branch of anthropology
  • Bashkir: этнография (etnografiya) — branch of anthropology
  • Belarusian: этнагра́фія (etnahráfija) — branch of anthropology
  • Belarusian: etnahrafija — branch of anthropology
  • Catalan: etnografia — branch of anthropology
  • Chinese Cantonese: 民族誌 /民族志 (man4 zuk6 zi3) — branch of anthropology
  • Chinese Mandarin: 民族誌 /民族志 (mínzúzhì) — branch of anthropology
  • Crimean Tatar: qavmiyat — branch of anthropology
  • Czech: etnografie — branch of anthropology
  • Dutch: etnografie — branch of anthropology
  • Esperanto: etnografio — branch of anthropology
  • Finnish: etnografia — branch of anthropology
  • French: ethnographie — branch of anthropology
  • Georgian: ეთნოგრაფია (etnograpia) — branch of anthropology
  • German: Ethnographie — branch of anthropology
  • German: Ethnografie — branch of anthropology
  • German: Völkerbeschreibung — branch of anthropology
  • Greek: εθνογραφία (ethnografía) — branch of anthropology
  • Hindi: मानवजातिविज्ञान (mānavjātivijñān) — branch of anthropology
  • Hungarian: néprajz — branch of anthropology
  • Hungarian: etnográfia — branch of anthropology
  • Ido: etnografio — branch of anthropology
  • Irish: eitneagrafaíocht — branch of anthropology
  • Italian: etnografia — branch of anthropology
  • Japanese: 民俗誌学 (minzokushigaku) — branch of anthropology
  • Japanese: 民俗誌 (minzokushi) — branch of anthropology
  • Kazakh: этнография (étnografiä) — branch of anthropology
  • Khmer: ជាតិពន្ធុវិទ្យា (ciət pŏənthuʼ vɨcciə) — branch of anthropology
  • Kyrgyz: этнография (etnografiya) — branch of anthropology
  • Latvian: etnogrāfija — branch of anthropology
  • Polish: etnografia — branch of anthropology
  • Portuguese: etnografia — branch of anthropology
  • Romanian: etnografie — branch of anthropology
  • Russian: этногра́фия (etnográfija) — branch of anthropology
  • Spanish: etnografía — branch of anthropology
  • Tagalog: talalahian — branch of anthropology
  • Thai: ชาติพันธุ์วรรณนา (châat-dtì-pan-wan-ná-naa) — branch of anthropology
  • Udmurt: калыктодос (kalyktodos) — branch of anthropology
  • Udmurt: этнография (etnografija) — branch of anthropology
  • Ukrainian: етнографія (etnohrafija) — branch of anthropology
  • Vietnamese: dân tộc ký — branch of anthropology
  • Vietnamese: dân tộc chí — branch of anthropology
  • Yiddish: עטנאָגראַפֿיע (etnografye) — branch of anthropology
  • Chinese Mandarin: 民族誌 /民族志 (mínzúzhì) — work
Real reading context

ethnography in complete knowledge articles