gens

1 of 2

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

gens

2 of 2

plural of gen entry 1

Examples of gens in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

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

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

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

Noun

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gens

• bens
• buns
• chins
• cleanse
• dens
• glens
• guns
• hens
• jens
• khans
• nuns
• ones