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

Other Word Forms

• clanless adjective
• interclan adjective
• subclan noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of clan¹

C14: from Scottish Gaelic clann family, descendants, from Latin planta sprout, _plant ¹

Example Sentences

Pawbert, who doesn’t fit in with his family, agrees that there’s been a big coverup that has aided his clan at the expense of the snakes.

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It is the second time this year a clan has saved a south Scotland church this year.

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Historic Assynt, which helps to look after the former seat of clan MacLeod of Assynt, said it had only recently been able to repair the wall after it was damaged a few months ago.

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Like that earlier work, “The Thanksgiving Visitor” is also drawn from Capote’s boyhood within a clan of eccentric relatives that included an older cousin and mother figure known as Sook.

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Surveyors interviewed people face to face on the Hamas side of the cease-fire dividing line as the militant group was engaging in battles with armed clans and carrying out public executions.

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Related Words

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