English

Noun

Gens

1. plural of Gen

German

Noun

Gens

1. genitive singular of Gen

English

Abbreviation

gens

1. generations

See also

• gen

Etymology 2

From Latin gēns ‎(“gens; tribe, people”); see also gentile, gender, genus, generate.

Noun

gens ‎(plural gentes or genses)

1. (historical) A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a collection of people related by birth, marriage or adoption, but allowing a greater amount of time between members and their common ancestor than is commonly implied by the term related.
2. (anthropology) A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line.
   • 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:

     The taboos, the laws, the rules of genses, 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.

Translations

Usage notes

(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

(historical Roman unit of society): clan, tribe

Anagrams

• engs
• negs

Catalan

Adverb

gens

1. a bit
2. a few
3. not any

French

Etymology

From an earlier gents, plural of gent, from Latin gentem, accusative of gēns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒɑ̃/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃
• Homophones: gent, gents, jan, jans, Jean

Noun

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.

Usage notes

• 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

Related terms

• gent

See also

• peuple m

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis^[1], from *ǵenh₁-, from which also gignō, generō, genus. Cognate with English kind and Ancient Greek γένεσις ‎(génesis), whence English genesis.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ɡens/, [ɡẽːs]

Noun

gēns f ‎(genitive gentis); third declension

1. Roman clan, related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name
2. tribe; people, family
3. the chief gods

Inflection

Third declension i-stem.

Derived terms

• genticus
• gentilīcius
• gentīlis
• gentīlitās

Descendants

References

• 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, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “gens”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, 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 (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, 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

1. ↑ “kind”; in: M. Philippa e.a., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands

Norman

Etymology

From Latin gēns.

Noun

gens m pl

1. (Guernsey, plural only) people

Portuguese

Noun

gens f (plural gens)

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

Synonyms

• gente

Swedish

Noun

gens

1. indefinite genitive singular of gen