RELATED CONTENT
Nearby words
Origin of tribe
Examples from the Web for tribe
British Dictionary definitions for tribe
tribe
noun
- any of the three divisions of the ancient Romans, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans
- one of the later political divisions of the Roman people
- any of the 12 divisions of ancient Israel, each of which was named after and believed to be descended from one of the 12 patriarchs
- a phyle of ancient Greece
- a large number of persons, animals, etc
- a specific class or group of persons
- a family, esp a large one
Word Origin for tribe
Word Origin and History for tribe
tribe
mid-13c., "one of the twelve divisions of the ancient Hebrews," from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus "one of the three political/ethnic divisions of the original Roman state" (Tites, Ramnes, and Luceres, corresponding, perhaps, to the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans), later, one of the 30 political divisions instituted by Servius Tullius (increased to 35 in 241 B.C.E.), perhaps from tri- "three" + *bhu-, root of the verb be. Others connect the word with the root of Welsh tref "town, inhabited place."
In the Biblical sense, which was the original one in English, the Latin word translates Greek phyle "race or tribe of men, body of men united by ties of blood and descent, a clan" (see physic). Extension to any ethnic group or race of people is first recorded 1590s.