Gens

Shortened from generations.

{{abbreviation-old|en}}

1. generations

From Latin gēns ("gens; tribe, people"); see also gentile, gender, genus, generate.

Full definition of gens

Noun

1. (historical) A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a collection of people related by birth, marriage or adoption, but allowing a greater amount of time between members and their common ancestor than is commonly implied by the term related.
2. (anthropology) A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line.
• 1919, Boris Sidis, :The taboos, the laws, the rules of genses, tribes, and nations, from the lowest to the highest, are upheld by a vague terror and sacred awe which society impresses on man by threats of ill-luck, fearful evil, and terrible punishments befalling sinners and transgressors of the tabooed, of the holy and the forbidden, charged with a mysterious, highly contagious, and virulently infective life-consuming energy.

Usage notes

(historical Roman unit of society) The concept is close to and often translated as clan, but the two are not identical. The alternative tribe is also sometimes used, but the Latin tribus has a separate meaning.

Synonyms

Anagrams

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