Ravana
Istar
I beg to differ
Race:
Noun:
1. a group of persons related by common descent or heredity.
2. a population so related.
Where as your definition refers only to Anthropology.
Well, or science generally. The problem is that the above definition presupposes that what's under discussion are also considered "persons"–a realm usually limited to the human (as far as dictionaries go: limiting "person" thus doesn't work quite as well in fantasy/SF where sentient non-humans are involved). Though more to the point:
In biology, races are distinct genetically divergent populations within the same species with relatively small morphological and genetic differences.
Yes, that's Wikipedia. It's late and I'm tired. Sue me. I did double-check my Webster's; the non-human biological usage didn't show up until the fifth item down… and it still was quite clear that "races" are subspecies, no matter what's being referred to.
So for the nitpicker at least, no, orcs and fairies aren't "races," they're "species." Traditionally, vampires and werewolves are neither race nor species, as they tend to be isolated individuals who don't share genetics… though they might in more recent works.
For more practical purposes–e.g. fantasy writing–it's unlikely to matter, and calling sentient non-humans "species" instead of "races" would probably be jarring to most readers.
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