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View synonyms for clan

clan

[ klan ]

noun

  1. a group of families or households, as among the Scottish Highlanders, the heads of which claim descent from a common ancestor:

    the Mackenzie clan.

  2. a group of people of common descent; family:

    Our whole clan got together for Thanksgiving.

  3. a group of people, as a clique, set, society, or party, especially as united by some common trait, characteristic, or interest:

    a clan of actors and directors.

  4. Anthropology.
    1. the principal social unit of tribal organization, in which descent is reckoned exclusively in either the paternal or the maternal line.
    2. a group of people regarded as being descended from a common ancestor.


clan

/ klæn /

noun

  1. a group of people interrelated by ancestry or marriage
  2. a group of families with a common surname and a common ancestor, acknowledging the same leader, esp among the Scots and the Irish
  3. a group of people united by common characteristics, aims, or interests
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • clanless adjective
  • inter·clan adjective
  • subclan noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of clan1

1375–1425; late Middle English ( Scots ) < Scots Gaelic clann < Old Irish cland offspring < Latin planta scion, plant, perhaps directly < British Celtic; compare Welsh plant children
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Word History and Origins

Origin of clan1

C14: from Scottish Gaelic clann family, descendants, from Latin planta sprout, plant 1
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Example Sentences

If you have someone in your clan who hasn’t heard this yet, please put them on to this one and saved them from becoming Night Night Nate.

You return between missions to interact with your clan, upgrade your gear, trade items and more.

Though hyenas spend much of their time alone, group living allows them to defend their turf against rival hyena clans and to gang up against threatening lions, he says.

Female hyenas may be out for cubs’ blood — even within their own clans.

The sun could come from a large, loose-knit clan or a small family that’s always fighting.

My name is Romulous, I lead the Dark Angels or xDAx a clan primarily based out of Warhammer.

Franco plays Benjy, the mentally handicapped—and eventually, castrated—member of the Compson clan.

But he said that the Qawasmeh clan has had a long history of working closely with Hamas leadership.

Happy to be the least of her clan, she becomes greatest among them.

The crowd was there to listen to Chappelle riff on everything from the Wu-Tang Clan to Barack Obama to gay rights.

Mark out in your sand-box the boundary lines of the hunting ground of the Horse clan.

The strange clan always used it on their way to and from the lowland plains.

The strangers soon went away, and the Bison clan forgot about them.

The head man of the agricultural clan was elected by the free choice of his fellows, his equals in rank and station.

Western gamblers are legion—a reckless, money-plunging, romantic and venturesome yet an admittedly square-shooting clan.

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