gens
/d͡ʒɛnz/ · noun
Meaning
- A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a collection of people related through a common ancestor by birth, marriage or adoption, possibly over many generations, and sharing the same nomen gentilicium.
- A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line; clan.
- A host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species.
- plural of gen (clipping of generation).
- A surname from German.
- plural of Gen
- plural of GEN
Etymology / origin
Borrowed from Latin gēns (“gens; people, tribe”), from Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (“birth; production”), from *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”) + *-tis (suffix forming abstract or action nouns from verb roots). Doublet of kind, genesis, and jati. See also gender, generate, gentile, genus; also Latin gigno (“to bring forth”).
- gigno(Latin)→
- *ǵénh₁tis(ine-pro)→
- *gentis(itc-pro)→
- gēns(la)→
- *ǵenh₁-(ine-pro)→
- gens (English)
- Relations: root, der, der, der, cog
Related words
Sources
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