There are four major definitions of this word, in order of importance:
1. Genus, species, or
kind. Up until about 30,000 years ago, there were other races of
humans, which included Neanderthals and Archaics, but they are thought to have been indirectly out-competed by modern Homo sapiens.
2. Any competition of speed or display of rapid movement.
3. Any fictional sentient species featured in fantasy or science fiction literature that is effectively
human for purposes of characterization. In role-playing games, different races (i.e. elves, dwarves,
humans, halflings etc.) can be selected for
play, each with it's own inherent advantages and disadvantages.
4. A word wrongly applied to refer to the 6 major populations of modern Homo sapiens, which
bear different skin colors but no important genetic differences.
"Would you
date a
person of another race?" some dude on a foum asked me.
"If she were an elf, half-elf, or halfling,
maybe. Otherwise no." I replied.