sept

1
[ sept ]

noun
  1. (in Scotland) a branch of a clan.

  2. Anthropology. a group believing itself derived from a common ancestor.

  1. Archaic. a clan.

Origin of sept

1
1510–20; perhaps <Latin sēptum paddock, enclosure, fold (in figurative use, e.g., Sept of Christ)

Other definitions for sept (2 of 3)

sept2
[ set ]

nounFrench.
  1. the number seven.

Other definitions for Sept. (3 of 3)

Sept.

abbreviation
  1. September. : Also Sep.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sept in a sentence

  • Early in the fourteenth century the Irish septs united so far as to form a joint effort to expel the English.

    Is Ulster Right? | Anonymous
  • The chiefs had come quietly in to the plan, and their septs had followed them in submission to the new order.

    History of the English People | John Richard Green
  • When this was understood, we first inquired whether one or more septs did possess that barony which we had in hand.

  • And a sort of feudal relation prevailed between the parent and the inferior septs.

  • He impressed the tribelands and the septs under a grievous tax.

British Dictionary definitions for sept (1 of 2)

sept

/ (sɛpt) /


noun
  1. anthropol a clan or group that believes itself to be descended from a common ancestor

  2. a branch of a tribe or nation, esp in medieval Ireland or Scotland

Origin of sept

1
C16: perhaps variant of sect

British Dictionary definitions for Sept (2 of 2)

Sept

abbreviation for
  1. September

  2. Septuagint

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