List of terms for ethnic out-groups

An ethnic out-group (also sometimes "outgroup" without hyphen)^[1] is a group of people which does not belong to a particular ethnic group, religion or nationality. Many cultures have terms referring to all outsiders, but in practice this often becomes narrowed to the largest outsider group.

Out-group terms are sometimes, but not always, considered to be derogatory, depending on the word and the context and manner in which it is used. The extent to which specific terms (such as allochtoon in the Netherlands or Pākehā in New Zealand) should be considered offensive is often a source of public debate. Nonetheless, these terms can be distinguished from ethnic slurs which are always derogatory and always refer to specific ethnic groups (rather than outsiders in general).

These terms are principally used by the members of an ethnic group (the in-group) to refer to outsiders (the out-group). However, in some cases the terms are used more widely, including by members of the out-group to describe themselves in relation to the group concerned. For example, the word gentile (non-Jew) is used by both Jewish and non-Jewish people.