gens

American  

[jenz] / dʒɛnz /

noun

plural

gentes

1. a group of families in ancient Rome claiming descent from a common ancestor and united by a common name and common ancestral religious rites.

2. Anthropology. a group tracing common descent in the male line; clan.

---

gens British  

/ dʒɛnz /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) any of a group of aristocratic families, having a common name and claiming descent from a common ancestor in the male line

2. anthropol a group based on descent in the male line

---

Other Word Forms

• subgens noun

Etymology

Origin of gens

First recorded in 1840–50, gens is from the Latin word gēns race, people. See genus, gender ¹, gender ²

Example Sentences

Thus, the Haitian Revolution did not bring lasting equality for all, but it did remove racial inequalities even though the gens de couleur libres brought an element of race into their views.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Principles of social equality, moreover, remained incomplete when former gens de couleur libres adopted the roles of the former plantation owners at the top of the social hierarchy.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Project Starscape has launched two batches - popularly called "gens" - of VTubers so far.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2022

Charles Eastwood, a locksmith in Phoenix, subpoenaed Acxiom, a data brokerage firm, as part of a lawsuit he filed against a group of purported lead gens in 2010.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2016

“You’re a traitor to your gens, girl,” Grandfather says, the only man in the Empire brave enough to refer to my mother as a girl.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir