Ethnic dress ranges from a single piece to a whole ensemble of items that identify an individual with a specific ethnic group. An ethnic group refers to people who share a cultural heritage or historical tradition, usually connected to a geographical location or a language background; it may sometimes overlap religious or occupational groups. Ethnicity refers to the common heritage of an ethnic gr
oup. Members of an ethnic group often distinguish themselves from others by using items of dress to symbolize their ethnicity and display group solidarity. The words "ethnic" and "ethnicity" come from the Greek word ethnos, meaning "people." Many anthropologists prefer to use the inclusive term "ethnic group" instead of "tribe," because the latter is often employed as shorthand for "other people" as opposed to "us." Sometimes the term "folk dress" is used instead of ethnic dress when discussing examples of ethnic dress in Europe and not elsewhere in the world. "Folk" and folk dress ordinarily distinguish European rural dwellers and peasants and their dress from wealthy landowners, nobility, or royalty and their apparel. Ethnic dress, however, is a neutral term that applies to distinctive cultural dress of people living anywhere in the world who share an ethnic background.
