extraction
ek-STRAK-shun
/ɪkˈstræk.ʃən/
The ethnic origin of someone's family.
Used almost exclusively in the phrase 'of [X] extraction' to describe someone's roots.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'extrahere', meaning 'to draw out'. In a genealogical sense, it implies that you have been 'drawn out' of a particular stock or family line.
Word relationships
- origin: Origin is general; extraction specifically refers to the 'pulling' of one's line from a certain place or group.
Commonly confused with
- ancestry: Ancestry is the whole history; extraction is often used to pinpoint a specific ethnic or social starting point.
Word family
- extract (verb): To pull out; to derive.
Collocations
- of [Nationality] extraction
- of humble extraction
- of noble extraction
Example sentences
- "He is a brilliant scientist of French extraction who now lives in New York." Describing origins
- "The author, being of humble extraction, often wrote about the struggles of the working class." Formal biography
Memory hook
Think of 'extracting' (pulling out) your family's history from a specific country. Drawn from roots.
When not to use
Don't use it to mean 'pulling out' in a family context (though it means that in dentistry/mining).
Fun facts
- While we use it for family, the most common use of 'extraction' today is in dentistry (pulling a tooth) or chemistry.
Explore more words
provenance, consanguinity, kinship, lineage, authentic, ancestral
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