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Webster 1913 Edition


Gens

‖

Gens

(jĕnz)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Gentes
(jĕn′tēz)
.
[L. See
Gentle
,
Adj.
]
(Rom. Hist.)
1.
A clan or family connection, embracing several families of the same stock, who had a common name and certain common religious rites; a subdivision of the Roman curia or tribe.
2.
(Ethnol.)
A minor subdivision of a tribe, among American aborigines. It includes those who have a common descent, and bear the same totem.