race
raceA group, population, breed, or variety within a species, although because of difficulties in its definition race is rarely used in a scientific context.
Race is also sometimes used to divide humanity into different groups according to real or imagined common descent. Such divisions are usually based on physical characteristics, such as skin and hair colour, and shape of eyes and nose, which are related to the geographical origins of a particular group. In the 19th century, it was believed that human beings could be unambiguously classed as members of particular races, and that social and cultural differences could be explained on racial grounds. In the early 20th century the anthropologist Franz Boas claimed that racial typing on a physical basis was arbitrary and argued the cultural origin of psychological differences. His approach became generally accepted, though the Nazis, who produced entirely...
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