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phratry

 - 2 dictionary results

phra⋅try

  [frey-tree]
Use phratry in a Sentence
–noun, plural -tries.
1. a grouping of clans or other social units within a tribe.
2. (in ancient Greece) a subdivision of a phyle.
Origin:
1745–55; < Gk phrātría, equiv. to phrātr-, s. of phrātr clansman (akin to brother ) + -ia -y 3

Related forms:
phratric, phratral, phra⋅tri⋅ac, phra⋅tri⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To phratry
phra·try   (frā'trē)   
n.   pl. phra·tries

  1. A kinship group constituting an intermediate division in the primitive structure of the Hellenic tribe or phyle, consisting of several patrilinear clans, and surviving in classical times as a territorial subdivision in the political and military organization of the Athenian state.

  2. Anthropology An exogamous subdivision of the tribe, constituting two or more related clans.


[Greek phrātriā, from phrātēr, phrātr-, fellow member of a clan; see bhrāter- in Indo-European roots.]
phra'tric adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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