Gens - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: Gens

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

gens

Audio Help [

jenz] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural gen·tes

Audio Help [jen-teez] Pronunciation Key.

1.	a group of families in ancient Rome claiming descent from a common ancestor and united by a common name and common ancestral religious rites.

2.	Anthropology. a group tracing common descent in the male line; clan.

[Origin: 1840–50; < L géns race, people. See genus, gender¹, gender²

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Gens

To learn more about Gens visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

gens Audio Help (jěnz) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. gen·tes (jěn'tēz')

A patrilineal clan of ancient Rome composed of several families of the same name claiming a common ancestor and belonging to a common religious cult.
Anthropology An exogamous patrilineal clan.

[Latin gēns; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gens

1847, in reference to ancient Rome, "tribe, clan," from L. gens (gen. gentis) "race, clan, nation" (see genus).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

gens
noun
family based on male descent; "he had no sons and there was no one to carry on his name" [syn: name]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Gens

Gens\ (j[e^]nz), n.; pl. Gentes (j[e^]n"t[=e]z). [L. See Gentle, a.] (Rom. Hist.) 1. A clan or family connection, embracing several families of the same stock, who had a common name and certain common religious rites; a subdivision of the Roman curia or tribe.

2. (Ethnol.) A minor subdivision of a tribe, among American aborigines. It includes those who have a common descent, and bear the same totem.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

GENS

GENS: in Acronym Finder

Browse Nearby Entries: