gens

Meanings

1. 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.
2. A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line; clan.
3. A host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species.^([W])

1. plural of gen (clipping of generation).

1. A surname from German.

1. plural of Gen

1. plural of GEN

Etymology

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”).