Lithuanians are of an ethnicity.
An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities such as common ancestral , language , social , cultural or national experiences .. identify. identity ( social science ). ancestral. ancestor. language. language. social. social. cultural. culture. national. nation. experiences. experience. people. people. Unlike other social groups -LRB- wealth , age , hobbies -RRB- , ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which one lives .. social. social. social groups. social group. wealth. wealth. age. ageing. hobbies. hobby. In some cases , it can be adopted if a person moves into another society .. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage , ancestry , origin myth , history , homeland , language or dialect , symbolic systems such as religion , mythology and ritual , cuisine , dressing style , art , and physical appearance .. language. language. cultural. culture. cultural heritage. cultural heritage. ancestry. ancestor. origin myth. origin myth. history. history. homeland. homeland. dialect. dialect. religion. religion. mythology. mythology. ritual. ritual. cuisine. cuisine. dressing. dress. art. art. physical appearance. human physical appearance. Ethnic groups , derived from the same historical founder population , often continue to speak related languages and share a similar gene pool .. founder population. founder effect. related languages. language family. gene pool. gene pool. By way of language shift , acculturation , adoption and religious conversion , it is sometimes possible for individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group and become part of another -LRB- except for ethnic groups emphasizing racial purity as a key membership criterion -RRB- .. language. language. language shift. language shift. acculturation. acculturation. adoption. adoption. religious conversion. religious conversion. leave one ethnic group and become part of another. passing ( sociology ). racial purity. racial hygiene. Ethnicity is often used synonymously with ambiguous terms such as nation or people .. nation. nation. people. people. In English , it can also have the connotation of something exotic -LRB- cf. `` White ethnic '' , `` ethnic restaurant '' , etc. -RRB- , generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants , who arrived after the founding population of an area was established .. something exotic. exoticism. White ethnic. White ethnic. Depending on which source of group identity is emphasized to define membership , the following types of -LRB- often mutually overlapping -RRB- groups can be identified  :. group identity. group identity. Ethno-linguistic , emphasizing shared language , dialect -LRB- and possibly script -RRB- -- example  : Slavs. language. language. dialect. dialect. Ethno-linguistic. Ethnolinguistic group. Slavs. Slavs. Ethno-national , emphasizing a shared polity or sense of national identity -- example  : Iraqis. national. nation. Ethno-national. Nation state. polity. polity. national identity. national identity. Iraqis. Iraqis. Ethno-racial , emphasizing shared physical appearance based on genetic origins -- example  : African Americans. physical appearance. human physical appearance. Ethno-racial. Racial group. African Americans. African Americans. Ethno-regional , emphasizing a distinct local sense of belonging stemming from relative geographic isolation -- example  : South Islanders. Ethno-regional. Regionalism ( politics ). South Islanders. South Island nationalism. Ethno-religious , emphasizing shared affiliation with a particular religion , denomination or sect -- example  : Sikhs. religion. religion. Ethno-religious. Ethnoreligious group. In many cases -- for instance , the sense of Jewish peoplehood -- more than one aspect determines membership .. Jewish peoplehood. Jewish peoplehood. The largest ethnic groups in modern times comprise hundreds of millions of individuals -LRB- Han Chinese being the largest -RRB- , while the smallest are limited to a few dozen individuals -LRB- numerous indigenous peoples worldwide -RRB- .. Han Chinese. Han Chinese. indigenous peoples. indigenous peoples. Larger ethnic groups may be subdivided into smaller sub-groups known variously as tribes or clans , which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy or physical isolation from the parent group .. clans. clans. endogamy. endogamy. physical isolation. Geographical segregation. Conversely , formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity , and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity .. pan-ethnicity. pan-ethnicity. merge into one single ethnicity. Melting pot. Whether through division or amalgamation , the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis .. ethnogenesis. ethnogenesis