gens

English

Etymology 1

Shortened from generations.

Abbreviation

gens

1. generations

See also

• gen

Etymology 2

From Latin gēns (“gens; tribe, people”). See also gentile, gender, genus, generate.

Noun

gens (plural gentes or genses)

1. A legally defined unit of Roman society closest in meaning to and translated by English clan, but not identical to it. The gens was a collection of families whose members were related by birth, marriage or adoption. All the families were considered to have descended from a common clan ancestor although in cases where the time from the ancestor to the contemporary time was great the kinship was more remote than is meant by the English term "related." In such cases the legal definition still prevailed.
2. (anthropology) a tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line
   • 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:

     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.

Anagrams

• engs
• negs

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Catalan

Adverb

gens

1. a bit
2. a few

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French

Etymology

From an earlier gents, plural of gent, from Latin gentem, accusative of gēns.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʒɑ̃/, X-SAMPA: /ZA~/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃
• Homophone: Jean

Noun

gens m. pl.

1. (plural only; not used in singular form) set of people

   Ces gens-là ont toujours été sympas avec moi.

   Je n’aime pas les gens qui se prennent pour le nombril du monde.

Related terms

• gente

See also

• peuple m.

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Latin

Wikipedia ^la

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁- as in Latin gignō, generō, genus.

Either from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (e-grade) or from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tis (zero-grade), both with Proto-Indo-European *-tis.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡeːns/

Noun

gēns (genitive gentis); f, third declension

1. Roman clan, related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name.
2. tribe; people
3. the chief gods

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	gēns	gentēs
genitive	gentis	gentium
dative	gentī	gentibus
accusative	gentem	gentēs 1
ablative	gente	gentibus
vocative	gēns	gentēs

¹ May also be gentīs.

Derived terms

• genticus
• gentilīcius
• gentīlis
• gentīlitās

Descendants

Anglo-Norman: gent Aromanian: gjintã Asturian: xente Catalan: gent French: gens Italian: gente

Neapolitan: gente Portuguese: gente Romanian: gintă Sicilian: genti Spanish: gente Venetian: dente, xente, zente

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Swedish

Noun

gens

1. indefinite possessive singular of gen