phratry

American  

[frey-tree] / ˈfreɪ tri /

noun

plural

phratries

1. a grouping of clans or other social units within a tribe.

2. (in ancient Greece) a subdivision of a phyle.

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phratry British  

/ ˈfreɪtrɪ /

noun

1. anthropol a group of people within a tribe who have a common ancestor

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Other Word Forms

• phratral adjective
• phratriac adjective
• phratrial adjective
• phratric adjective
• subphratry noun

Etymology

Origin of phratry

1745–55; < Greek phrātría, equivalent to phrātr-, stem of phrātḗr clansman (akin to brother ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

The districts of the phratry and the tribe received inhabitants who did not belong to these bodies and, therefore, were strangers in their own homes, although they were countrymen.

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich

Very often the bitterest feuds existed between families within the tribe and of the same phratry, although if attacked by a stranger people all would unite for mutual protection.

From The Whale House of the Chilkat by Emmons, George T.

Traces of this union of immigrants with older inhabitants have been detected in the combination of Zeus Herkeios with Apollo Patro�s as the ancient gods of the phratry.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various

At the funeral of prominent persons the opposite phratry prepared the interment and the burial rites, while the phratry of the deceased attended the funeral as mourners.

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich

Each such division has a name, which, when it can be translated, is the name of an animal: in the majority of cases, however, the meaning of the phratry name is lost.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various