tribal en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈtɹaɪbəl/ (UK, US)
Etymology
From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; ordinarily, Stamm would only be translated as tribe when used in its ethnographic sense.
Meanings
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Of or relating to tribes.
social order through tribal law
‘What has he done?’ ‘Oh, killed a few natives. That wouldn’t count so much if it was all ‘tribal’; but he’s ‘gone cheeky’ and threatens wholesale murder. My job is to grab him before he slaughters more.’
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 46:
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Based on or organized according to tribes.
a tribal society
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(historical, qualifier:theory of recapitulation, rare) Phylogenic.
tribal history
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Incorporating designs or styles typical of an indigenous people.
tribal techno music
a purse with a tribal design
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more tribal | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most tribal | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
tribal house · subtribal · tribally · tribality · intratribal · multitribal · tribalesque · nontribal · tribalization · tribalize · tribalist · extratribal · intertribal · pretribal · tribal tattoo · untribal · tribalism · tribal chief · tribalistic
Translations (37)
gl tribal (based on or organized according to tribes) · la tribālis (based on or organized according to tribes) · ca tribal (based on or organized according to tribes) · nl stammen- (of or relating to tribes) · bg пле́менен (of or relating to tribes) · uk племінни́й (of or relating to tribes) · nl stam- (of or relating to tribes) · acw قَبَلي (of or relating to tribes) · acw قَبيلي (of or relating to tribes) · hu törzsi (of or relating to tribes) · be племянны́ (of or relating to tribes) · ar قَبَلِيّ (of or relating to tribes) · la gentilicius (of or relating to tribes) · pt tribal (based on or organized according to tribes) · es tribal (based on or organized according to tribes) · pt tribal (of or relating to tribes) · gl tribal (of or relating to tribes) · el φυλετικός (of or relating to tribes) · ru племенно́й (based on or organized according to tribes) · la tribālis (of or relating to tribes) · he שִׁבְטִי (of or relating to tribes) · es tribal (of or relating to tribes) · ca tribal (of or relating to tribes) · ru племенно́й (of or relating to tribes) · eo triba (of or relating to tribes) · ro tribal (of or relating to tribes) · sv stam- (of or relating to tribes) · fi heimo- (of or relating to tribes) · vo tribütik (of or relating to tribes) · sh plȅmenskī (of or relating to tribes) · it tribale (of or relating to tribes) · ro tribal (based on or organized according to tribes) · fr tribal (of or relating to tribes) · de Stammes- (of or relating to tribes) · mk племенски (of or relating to tribes) · el φυλετικός (based on or organized according to tribes) · nl tribaal (of or relating to tribes)