clan

American  

[klan] / klæn /

noun

• clans
  plural

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.

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clan British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subclan
  noun
• clanless
  adjective
• interclan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of clan

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

Explanation

A clan is an extended family. Your clan might include your parents and siblings, but also your cousins and second cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Families that are related to each other, whether through marriage or as distant cousins, are members of the same clan. If you get together with a big family group every summer, you can say you vacation with your clan. In Scotland, a person's clan has a specific name, like "clan MacLachlan." The word comes from the Gaelic clann, "family" or "offspring," with the Latin root planta, "offshoot."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clan clans

The Weston family, worth billions, is a Canadian-British food-business clan that traces its roots to a bakery business founded in Toronto in 1882.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

While King Oyo inherited the crown from his father, Mwanguhya told the BBC "the crown has moved to a different line within the ruling clan".

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Sarah’s parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary, and they’re taking the whole clan on a celebratory safari.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Today, Carter is simply family, part of the Smiths’ extended clan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Torak guessed that she was wondering how her clan would punish her for helping their captive escape.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Palestinians in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah voted on lists of candidates that were seen as associated with various clans and political groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

The Ming family was one of several clans that ran Myanmar's sleepy town of Laukkaing, close to the border with China.

From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026

The determination, released Wednesday, is not the final say but signals a possibility that several clans of the iconic cougars will be listed under the California Endangered Species Act.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

Israeli security officials also said he succumbed to wounds suffered during internal fighting among clans in Gaza.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

It was a thin broth made from boiled elk hooves and a few slivers of dried deer heart, bulked up with rowanberries and the tough, tasteless tree-mushroom that the clans call auroch’s ears.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Related Words

• band
• faction
• gang
• mob
• sect
• society
• tribe