ethnic cleansing
The mass expulsion or killing of people belonging to one ethnic group by those of anotherThe mass expulsion or killing of people belonging to one ethnic group by those of another.
Meaning
1 senses(euphemistic, uncountable)The mass expulsion or killing of people belonging to one ethnic group by those of another.
ethnische Säuberung
этни́ческая чи́сткаetníčeskaja čístka
етні́чна чи́сткаetníčna čýstka
the mass expulsion and killing of one ethnic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that area
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Possibly a calque of Serbo-Croatian etničko čišćenje, though this is probably attested latPossibly a calque of Serbo-Croatian etničko čišćenje, though this is probably attested later. Popularized by (and still often associated with) the wars in former Yugoslavia during the 1990s; however, versions of the phrase have been attested since the 1860s in various languages (with the earliest attestation translating directly to the phrase being Romanian purificare etnică from 1941) and it probably arose independently on numerous occasions.
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Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable