gens

noun

ˈjenz  ˈgen(t)s 

plural gentes ˈjen-ˌtēz  ˈgen-ˌtās 

1

: a Roman clan embracing the families of the same stock in the male line with the members having a common name and worshipping a common ancestor

2

: clan

especially : a patrilineal clan

3

: a distinguishable group of related organisms

Examples of gens in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Otherwise, expect to land somewhere between $20,000 and $75,000, with lower-mileage second-gens toward the high end of that range. —James Tate, Car and Driver, 30 Dec. 2022

In fact, the elite patrician gens Claudia even had paternal Sabine ancestry. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2013

Plus; iPhone X; iPad 5; iPad 6; iPad 7; iPad Pro (1st and 2nd gens). —José Adorno, BGR, 15 Dec. 2022

Social media forums are giving now-young-adult first-gens the opportunity to celebrate their culture and become the faces of the trends their ancestors started. —Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2022

Next-gens tend to integrate philanthropy into all aspects of their lives. —Shelley Hoss, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin gent-, gens literally, "group of the same ancestry, people, nation," going back to Indo-European *ǵenh₁-ti- "offspring," derivative of *ǵenh₁- "engender, be born" — more at kin entry 1

Note: The loss of the reflex of the laryngeal in gent-, gens, as opposed to genitor "father, creator" (see progenitor) presumably suggests that the word is a relatively recent formation, as observed already by A. Ernout and A. Meillet (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine, 4. édition, 1979). Compare Latin nātiō "birth, race, nationality" (see nation), from *ǵn̥h₁-ti-, an alternative zero-grade derivative with the suffix *-ti-.

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1