gens
Americannoun
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a group of families in ancient Rome claiming descent from a common ancestor and united by a common name and common ancestral religious rites.
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Anthropology. a group tracing common descent in the male line; clan.
noun
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(in ancient Rome) any of a group of aristocratic families, having a common name and claiming descent from a common ancestor in the male line
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anthropol a group based on descent in the male line
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gens
First recorded in 1840–50, gens is from the Latin word gēns race, people. See genus, gender 1, gender 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within a few days of the Bois Caïman meeting, some gens de couleur libres joined forces with rebelling enslaved people in an uprising against White colonists.
From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022
Thus, the Haitian Revolution did not bring lasting equality for all, but it did remove racial inequalities even though the gens de couleur libres brought an element of race into their views.
From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022
Project Starscape has launched two batches - popularly called "gens" - of VTubers so far.
From BBC • Oct. 19, 2022
The difference between people like Mr. Baldino and locksmiths sent by lead gens is not just a physical storefront; excellent locksmiths work out of cars and vans, too.
From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2016
Grandfather stands in his box, backed by the rest of the family, reminding everyone here that one of the Empire's most powerful gens has seen a son graduate today.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
