Abstract
The word “ethnos” first appeared in Ancient Greek texts. It has passed through various definition stops during its journey from that date to the present. However, when the scientific studies carried out are examined, it is striking that a clear semantic framework cannot be drawn for the concept of ethnos. In order to contribute to the solution of this problem, in the study, the word ethnos has been discussed together on the chronological and geographical levels. First, an etymological analysis of the word was made, then until XXI. century all the meaning changes in different geographies were determined by descriptive and comparative analysis methods from the perspectives of various scientists. In the light of the examination, it has been concluded that ethnos, which was used in close meanings with words such as state, group, people, tribe, clan, class, nation before, has been more frequently used together with the words ethnic origin, ethnic structure and ethnicity in recent years. In addition, it has been noticed that the word reflects various ideological approaches in different geographies. It is thought that, thanks to the results, it has contributed to the formation of a conceptual framework of the word to be used in many fields, especially in sciences such as anthropology, archeology, ethnology, ethnography, geography, and history.