gens
/d͡ʒɛnz/ noun C2- 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.
- A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line; clan.
- A host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species.
Plural gentes
From the library
This is a queer old book I picked up at a stall yesterday—‘De Jure inter Gentes’—published in Latin at Liege in the Lowlands, in 1642.
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