clan
nounUS, UK /klæn/ · UK, SC, WA /klan/
Etymology Borrowed from Irish clann (“offspring, children of the family”) and Scottish Gaelic clann, both from Old Irish cland, borrowed from Old Welsh plant, itself borrowed from Latin planta (“shoot, offspring”). Doublet of plant and planta.
1
Anthropology, Human sciences, Sciences A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
2
A traditional social group of families in the Scottish Highlands having a common hereditary chieftain.
3
Any group defined by family ties with some sort of political unity.
- Holonym: nation
- Near-synonym: canton (uncommon outside of certain dialects)
1 more example
- As a rule, you see, I'm not lugged into Family Rows. On the occasions when Aunt is calling to Aunt like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps and Uncle James's letter about Cousin Mabel's peculiar behaviour is being shot round the family circle... the clan has a tendency to ignore me.1923, P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves:
4
Video games A group of players who habitually play on the same team in multiplayer games.
5
A badger colony.
- Derived terms
- clan control, clan endogamy, clanfellow, clanless, clan mate, clanmate, clannish, clannism, clannist, clanny, clansfolk, clanship, clansman, clanspeak, clansperson, clanswoman, interclan, intraclan, Klan, Ku Klux Klan, matriclan, multiclan, patriclan, subclan
- Related terms
- clan lab