# gens
## English
### Etymology 1

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

* (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA: /d͡ʒɛnz/, /ɡɛns/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛnz

#### Noun

gens (plural gentes or genses)
* (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.
* (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.
* (zoology) A host-specific lineage of a brood parasite species.

##### Usage notes

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

* (Roman unit of society): clan, tribe (but see the usage note)

##### Derived terms

* gentile (“of or pertaining to a gens or several gentes”)
* subgens

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

Clipping of generations.

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA: /d͡ʒɛnz/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)

#### Noun

gens
* 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

* ↑ Currently in the collection of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

### Further reading

* gens on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* Seng, engs, negs

## Catalan
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin genus.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈʒens]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈd͡ʒens]

#### Adverb

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

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈʒɛns]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈd͡ʒens]

#### Noun

gens
* plural of gen (“gene”)

### References

* “gens” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “gens”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “gens” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “gens” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Finnish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin gēns.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɡens/, [ˈɡe̞ns̠]
* Rhymes: -ens
* Hyphenation: gens

### Noun

gens
* (historical) gens (a unit in Ancient Roman society)

#### Declension

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
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin gentēs.

### Noun

gens f pl (plural only) (ORB, broad)
* people

### References

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

## French
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʒɑ̃/
* Audio (Paris):(file)
* (Canada) IPA: /ʒã/
* (Haiti) IPA: /ʒɑ̃s/
* (Louisiana) IPA: /ʒɑ̃(s)/
* Rhymes: -ɑ̃
* Homophones: gent, gents, jan, jans, Jean

### Noun

gens m pl (plural only)
* 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

* 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

* gens de peu
* gens du voyage
* petites gens

#### Related terms

* gent

### See also

* peuple m

### Further reading

* “gens”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Icelandic
### Noun

gens
* indefinite genitive singular of gen

## Latin
### Etymology

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

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈɡens/, [ˈɡẽːs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒens/, [ˈd͡ʒɛns]

### Noun

gēns f (genitive gentis); third declension
* Roman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites)
* stock, tribe
* 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.
* people, family
    Synonyms: tribus, prōlēs, prōgeniēs
* the chief gods
* (biblical, Christianity, Judaism) heathen, pagan

#### Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

#### Derived terms

* genticus
* gentīlicius
* gentīlis
* gentīlitās
* gentīlitius
* ingēns

#### Descendants

* Balkan Romance:
** Aromanian: gintã (unusual)
** Romanian: gint
* Dalmatian:
** ziant
* Italo-Romance:
** Italian: gente
*** → Sardinian: gente, genti, tzente, zente
** Judeo-Italian: יֵינְטַה (yenəṭa /⁠jenta⁠/)
** Neapolitan: gente
** Sicilian: genti
* W. Romance of N. Italy:
** Friulian: int
** Istriot: zento
** Venetan: dente, xente, zente
** Lombard: gent
* Gallo-Romance:
** Franco-Provençal: gens
** Old French: gent
*** French: gens m pl
*** Norman: gens m pl
*** Walloon: djin m pl
* Occitano-Romance:
** Catalan: gent
** Occitan: gent
** Aragonese: chent
* Ibero-Romance:
** Asturian: xente
** Leonese: xente
** Mirandese: giente
** Old Galician-Portuguese: gente
*** Galician: xente
*** Portuguese: gente
** Old Spanish: yente
*** Ladino: djente
*** Spanish: gente (latin influence)
* Borrowings:
** → Albanian: gjinde
** → Basque: jende
** → Romanian: gintă
** → English: gens, ⇒ genticide

### References

* ↑ “kind”; in: M. Philippa e.a., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands
* ↑ 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
* ↑ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “gjinde”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 136

### Further reading

* “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, 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, 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
### Etymology

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

### Noun

gens m pl
* (Guernsey, plural only) people

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gēns. Doublet of gente.

### Noun

gens f (invariable)
* (Ancient Rome) gens (in Ancient Rome, a group of people descending from a common ancestor)
    Synonym: gente

## Spanish
### Noun

gens f (plural genss)
* (Ancient Rome) gens

## Swedish
### Noun

gens
* indefinite genitive singular of gen