Ethnogenesis (from Greek ethnos , "group of people, nation", and genesis , "beginning, coming into being"; plural ethnogeneses) is a process in which a group of people acquire an ethnicity, that is, a group identity that identifies them as a cultural group. This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification.

Ethnogenesis (from Greek ethnos , "group of people, nation", and genesis , "beginning, coming into being"; plural ethnogeneses) is a process in which a group of people acquire an ethnicity, that is, a group identity that identifies them as a cultural group. This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification.