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gens
5 dictionary results for: Gens
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
gens       [jenz] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural gen·tes       [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.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gens       (jěnz)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. gen·tes (jěn'tēz')
  1. 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.
  2. Anthropology An exogamous patrilineal clan.


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

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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