Wiktionary

gens

See also: Gens, gēns, and ġens

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
WOTD – 21 April 2018

Etymology 1

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A bust of Marcus Aurelius (121–180 C.E.) found in Kandilli, Bilecik Province.[1] Marcus Aurelius, who was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 C.E., was from the gens Annia (sense 1) as indicated by his name during his early years – Marcus Annius Verus.

Borrowed from Latin gēns (“gens; people, tribe”), from Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (“birth; production”), from *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”) + *-tis (suffix forming abstract or action nouns from verb roots). Doublet of kind, genesis, and jati. See also gender, generate, gentile, genus; also Latin gigno (“I bring forth”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gens (plural gentes or genses)

  2. (Ancient Rome, historical) A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a collection of people related through a common ancestor by birth, marriage or adoption, possibly over many generations, and sharing the same nomen gentilicium.
    • 1848, G[eorge] L[ong], “GENS”, in William Smith, editor, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2nd improved and enlarged edition, London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly, Upper Gower Street; and Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row; John Murray, Albemarle Street, →OCLC, pages 568 and 569:
      [page 568, column 2] There were certain sacred rites (sacra gentilitia) which belonged to a gens, to the observance of which all the members of a gens, as such, were bound, whether they were members by birth, adoption, or adrogation. A person was freed from the observance of such sacra, and lost the privileges connected with his gentile rites, when he lost his gens, that is, when he was adrogated, adopted, or even emancipated; for adrogation, adoption, and emancipation were accompanied by a diminutio capitis. […] [page 569, column 2] As the gentes were subdivisions of the three ancient tribes, the populus (in the ancient sense) alone had gentes, so that to be a patrician and to have a gens were synonymous; and thus we find the expressions gens and patricii constantly united.
    • 1987, Frances Gies, Joseph Gies, “Roots: Roman, German, Christian”, in Marriage and Family in the Middle Ages, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →ISBN:
      Caius Julius Caesar belonged to the gens Julius, his father's name was Caesar, and his own individual name (praenomen) was Caius. Women were given the clan name as their own; Caesar's sister was called Julia, and a younger sister would have been called Julia Minor.
  3. (anthropology) A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line.
    • 1877, Lewis H[enry] Morgan, “Organization of Society upon the Basis of Sex”, in Ancient Society: Or Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, part II (Growth of the Idea of Government), pages 51–52:
      The Kamilaroi are divided into six gentes, standing with reference to the right of marriage, in two divisions, […] Originally the first three gentes were not allowed to intermarry with each other, because they were subdivisions of an original gens; but they were permitted to marry into either of the other gentes, and vice versâ.
    • 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress, Boston, Mass.: Richard G. Badger, the Gorham Press, →OCLC, page 25:
      The taboos, the laws, the rules of gentes, tribes, and nations, from the lowest to the highest, are upheld by a vague terror and sacred awe which society impresses on man by threats of ill-luck, fearful evil, and terrible punishments befalling sinners and transgressors of the tabooed, of the holy and the forbidden, charged with a mysterious, highly contagious, and virulently infective life-consuming energy.
    • 2006, Dzemal Sokolovic, “Man (between Individualism and Totalitarianism)”, in Nation vs. People: Bosnia is Just a Case, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, →ISBN, part I (Man and Social Grouping), page 15:
      While a woman and a man [who are native Hawaiians] primarily establish a family, they nonetheless remain members of different genses, and it is only as members of different genses that they are able to set up the family. At the same time, the children belong to the family of their parents, but owing to the validity of their mother's side—exclusively, to the gens of their mother. Thus, the members of one and the same family, the closest blood-related community, are members of two different genses.
  4. (zoology) A host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species.[W]
Usage notes
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Regarding sense 1 (“historical Roman unit of society”), the concept is close to and often translated as clan, but the two are not identical. The alternative tribe is also sometimes used, but the Latin tribus has a separate meaning.

Synonyms
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  • (Roman unit of society): clan, tribe (but see the usage note)
Derived terms
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  • gentile (“of or pertaining to a gens or several gentes”)
Translations
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Etymology 2

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Clipping of generations.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gens

  1. plural of gen (clipping of generation).
    • 2004, Sally Bishai, “Courtship, Marriage and the Ubiquitous ‘Dating Thing’”, in Mid-East Meets West: On Being and Becoming a Modern Arab American, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 57:
      For my fellow first-gens, get ready to hide a smirk, because your life story is likely hidden somewhere in this chapter. For the uninitiated—that is, the person who's never had a thing to do with the Arab way of doing things (namely dating)—I advise you to buckle up.
    • 2016, Dwight Lang, “Witnessing Social Class in the Academy”, in Allison L. Hurst, Sandi Kawecka Nenga, editors, Working in Class: Recognizing How Social Class Shapes Our Academic Work, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, part 2 (Teaching), page 102:
      […] I witness firsthand the difficult "downstream" outcomes (Grusky 2014) of social class stratification in a university setting where approximately 3,400 undergraduates (13% of the undergraduate population) are first in their families to attend and/or graduate from college (first-gens). Most of these students are low income and nearly 1,200 first-gens have grown up in poverty.
    • 2017, Temple Fennell, “SCIE: Sustainable Cycle of Investing Engagement”, in Kirby Rosplock, The Complete Direct Investing Handbook: A Guide for Family Offices, Qualified Purchasers, and Accredited Investors (Bloomberg Financial Series), Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 242:
      The Family Values and Framing Strategy steps address soft issues as what is the purpose of the new investment strategy, is there a desire to engage and train the next generation (Next Gens), and is there building buy-in and engagement across the family members important to strengthen family unity.

References

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  1. ^ Currently in the collection of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Latin genus.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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gens

  1. (in negative phrases) at all
    No m'agrada gens. ― I don't like it at all.
  2. (in negative constructions) not any
    No queda gens de sal. ― There isn't any salt left.
  3. (in interrogative constructions) any
    Et queda gens de sal? ― Do you have any salt left?

Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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gens

  1. plural of gen (“gene”)

References

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Finnish

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin gēns.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɡens/, [ˈɡe̞ns̠]
  • Rhymes: -ens
  • Hyphenation(key): gens

Noun

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gens

  1. (historical) gens (a unit in Ancient Roman society)

Declension

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Inflection of gens (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative gens gensit
genitive gensin gensien
partitive gensiä gensejä
illative gensiin genseihin
singular plural
nominative gens gensit
accusative nom. gens gensit
gen. gensin
genitive gensin gensien
partitive gensiä gensejä
inessive gensissä genseissä
elative gensistä genseistä
illative gensiin genseihin
adessive gensillä genseillä
ablative gensiltä genseiltä
allative gensille genseille
essive gensinä genseinä
translative gensiksi genseiksi
abessive gensittä genseittä
instructive — gensein
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of gens (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative gensini gensini
accusative nom. gensini gensini
gen. gensini
genitive gensini gensieni
partitive gensiäni gensejäni
inessive gensissäni genseissäni
elative gensistäni genseistäni
illative gensiini genseihini
adessive gensilläni genseilläni
ablative gensiltäni genseiltäni
allative gensilleni genseilleni
essive gensinäni genseinäni
translative gensikseni genseikseni
abessive gensittäni genseittäni
instructive — —
comitative — genseineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative gensisi gensisi
accusative nom. gensisi gensisi
gen. gensisi
genitive gensisi gensiesi
partitive gensiäsi gensejäsi
inessive gensissäsi genseissäsi
elative gensistäsi genseistäsi
illative gensiisi genseihisi
adessive gensilläsi genseilläsi
ablative gensiltäsi genseiltäsi
allative gensillesi genseillesi
essive gensinäsi genseinäsi
translative gensiksesi genseiksesi
abessive gensittäsi genseittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — genseinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative gensimme gensimme
accusative nom. gensimme gensimme
gen. gensimme
genitive gensimme gensiemme
partitive gensiämme gensejämme
inessive gensissämme genseissämme
elative gensistämme genseistämme
illative gensiimme genseihimme
adessive gensillämme genseillämme
ablative gensiltämme genseiltämme
allative gensillemme genseillemme
essive gensinämme genseinämme
translative gensiksemme genseiksemme
abessive gensittämme genseittämme
instructive — —
comitative — genseinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative gensinne gensinne
accusative nom. gensinne gensinne
gen. gensinne
genitive gensinne gensienne
partitive gensiänne gensejänne
inessive gensissänne genseissänne
elative gensistänne genseistänne
illative gensiinne genseihinne
adessive gensillänne genseillänne
ablative gensiltänne genseiltänne
allative gensillenne genseillenne
essive gensinänne genseinänne
translative gensiksenne genseiksenne
abessive gensittänne genseittänne
instructive — —
comitative — genseinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative gensinsä gensinsä
accusative nom. gensinsä gensinsä
gen. gensinsä
genitive gensinsä gensiensä
partitive gensiään
gensiänsä 		gensejään
gensejänsä
inessive gensissään
gensissänsä 		genseissään
genseissänsä
elative gensistään
gensistänsä 		genseistään
genseistänsä
illative gensiinsä genseihinsä
adessive gensillään
gensillänsä 		genseillään
genseillänsä
ablative gensiltään
gensiltänsä 		genseiltään
genseiltänsä
allative gensilleen
gensillensä 		genseilleen
genseillensä
essive gensinään
gensinänsä 		genseinään
genseinänsä
translative gensikseen
gensiksensä 		genseikseen
genseiksensä
abessive gensittään
gensittänsä 		genseittään
genseittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — genseineen
genseinensä

Franco-Provençal

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Etymology

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Inherited from Latin gentēs.

Noun

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gens f pl (plural only) (ORB, broad)

  1. people

References

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  • gens in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
  • gens in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

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Etymology

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From an earlier gents, from the plural of Old French gent, genz, from gentem, accusative of gēns.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gens m pl (plural only)

  1. set of people
    Ces gens-là ont toujours été sympas avec moi.
    Those people have always been kind to me.
    Je n’aime pas les gens qui se prennent pour le nombril du monde.
    I don't like people who think the world revolves around them.
    (literally, “I don't like people who take themselves for the navel of the world.”)
    • 2018, Zaz, J'aime, j'aime:
      Qu’est-ce que t’aimes, qu’est-ce que t’aimes ? Je sais pas, moi, ça dépend. J’aime plutôt les gens honnêtes.
      What do you like, what do you like? I don't know; it depends. I quite like honest people.

Usage notes

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  • When gens is preceded by an attributive adjective which has a different feminine form, this adjective, along with any preceding determiner, is made feminine. However, adjectives after the noun remain masculine.
Toutes les bonnes gens heureux
Tous ces honnêtes gens

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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Icelandic

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Noun

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gens

  1. indefinite genitive singular of gen

Latin

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Latin Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia la

Etymology

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From Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis,[1] from root *ǵenh₁- (“to produce, to beget, to give birth”).[2]

See also generō, genus, gignō. Cognate with English kind, Sanskrit जाति (jāti), Ancient Greek γένος (génos) and Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis), whence English genesis.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gēns f (genitive gentis); third declension

  1. Roman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites)
  2. stock, tribe
  3. nation, country
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.599–600:
      Sī petat ā victīs, tot sūmat nōmina Caesar,
      quot numerō gentēs maximus orbis habet.
      Were Caesar to seek his names from the conquered,
      he would have to assume as many in number as the vast world contains nations.
      1851. The Fasti &c of Ovid. Translated by H. T. Riley. London: H. G. Bohn. pg. 38.
  4. people, family
    Synonyms: tribus, prōlēs, prōgeniēs
  5. the chief gods
  6. (biblical, Christianity, Judaism) heathen, pagan

Declension

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Third-declension noun (i-stem).

singular plural
nominative gēns gentēs
genitive gentis gentium
dative gentī gentibus
accusative gentem gentēs
gentīs
ablative gente gentibus
vocative gēns gentēs

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ “kind”; in: M. Philippa e.a., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands
  2. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “gēns, -ntis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 258
  3. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “gjinde”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 136

Further reading

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  • “gens”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “gens”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • gens in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • gens in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • the territory of this race extends as far as the Rhine: haec gens pertinet usque ad Rhenum
    • to civilise men, a nation: homines, gentem a fera agrestique vita ad humanum cultum civilemque deducere (De Or. 1. 8. 33)
    • universal history: omnis memoria, omnis memoria aetatum, temporum, civitatum or omnium rerum, gentium, temporum, saeculorum memoria
    • to violate the law of nations: ius gentium violare
    • to completely annihilate a nation: gentem ad internecionem redigere or adducere (B. G. 2. 28)
  • “gens”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • gens in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
  • “gens”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Norman

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Etymology

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From Old French gens, gent, from Latin gēns, gentis.

Noun

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gens m pl

  1. (Guernsey, plural only) people

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin gēns. Doublet of gente.

Noun

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gens f (invariable)

  1. (Ancient Rome) gens (in Ancient Rome, a group of people descending from a common ancestor)
    Synonym: gente

Spanish

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Noun

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gens f (plural genss)

  1. (Ancient Rome) gens

Swedish

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Noun

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gens

  1. indefinite genitive singular of gen
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